


Inside The Shadows

by Ongaku_Ato_Kakikomi



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-06-22 05:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 57,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19660864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ongaku_Ato_Kakikomi/pseuds/Ongaku_Ato_Kakikomi
Summary: Emma was just a human baby when Damon Salvatore saved and adopted her. Now, she's seventeen and living her human life alone with her cousin Zach, who pretends that he's her uncle. But things start to change when her real uncle, Stefan, comes back for an unknown amount of time. And for once, she's not too happy about seeing her dad's smile again.





	1. Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot

**Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot**

“ _So... you’re telling me that_ _ **your**_ _boyfriend can’t come to pick you up on the_ _ **first**_ _day of school because... he’s busy?_ ”

The brown-haired girl sighs as she takes out a plate from the cabinets and puts it on the counter, still waiting for her bread to toast. She then moves the phone from one ear to the other, biting the inside of her cheek.

“I’m sure he has his reasons.” The girl looks out the window, the sun slightly touching her skin through the blinds. “Tyler wouldn’t lie to me.”

“ _Em, you know he’s been acting strangely for the past few months.”_ The girl closes her eyes, not liking what her friend’s telling her right now. _“There are rumors that he’s been hanging out with Vi-_ ”

“He told me they’re just rumors.”

“ _I’m just saying-_ ”

“Bonnie, I trust him, okay? And I know him. He’s not the kind to just go cheat on me.”

“ _You’re right, you’re right. I’m just worried about you, you know? Always living alone in that huge mansion... a boyfriend that is known to be a dick-_ ”

“Can you just tell me if you can come to pick me up? That’s why I’ve been calling you in the first place. I’m starting to think you didn’t get the psychic gene your grandma told you about.”

The brown hair girl takes out the toasts from the device, managing to trap the phone between her ear and her shoulders while she puts butter on the bread.

“ _I_ _ **am**_ _psychic, okay? And I’m predicting that I’ll need to pick up Elena first before I go straight to your mansion._ ”

Emma smiles, a little happiness coming back into her heart. “It’s not a mansion, Bonnie.”

“ _You’re just in denial. Anyway, I’m going out of the house now. I’ll be at your place in twenty minutes max.”_

“ **You need a ride?** _“_

The girl screams and turns around to see a young man on the other side of the kitchen, almost dropping her phone onto the ground. The man slightly smiles at her, his arms crossed over his chest as he stops himself from laughing at the girl’s reaction.

“ _Em? What happened? Are you okay? Why did you scream?_ ”

The light brown hair, the forest green eyes, the bushy eyebrows... It takes her a while, but Emma eventually smiles wildly, having difficulties to hold back her excitement.

“ _Emma..? Are you still there? Wait, have you been attacked!? I’m coming right n-”_

“Sorry Bonnie, my uncle’s here. You don’t need to pick me up anymore.”

“ _Wait, your uncle? Wha-_ ” The teenager doesn’t even wait for her friend to finish that she shuts down her phone, now running into the man’s open arms.

“Uncle Stefan!” She jumps unto him, nuzzling her face into his neck just like she used to do when she was little.

“Hello to you too, Emma.” She feels his arms hug her back, the man chuckling at her childish reaction. “Long time no see.”

“Well, yeah. It’s been ten years.” She gets out of Stefan’s embrace to give him a smug. “See any difference since last time?”

“You’re all grown up now, huh? You were seven last time I visit.” He puts his hand on her head to shuffle her hair around, making the girl try to push him away. “Already seventeen. One day I’m gonna blink and you’ll be thirty.”

“Yeah, watch me. I’m gonna be older than you.” Stefan laughs at Emma’s comment, shaking his head at her.

“So, I heard you got a boyfriend?” Emma gasps while her uncle smirks, the girl not believing that he has been eavesdropping her conversation. “Does Damon know about this?”

“What? Hell no! I don’t want Tyler to die by the hands of my father, thank you very much.”

“Well, from what I’ve heard here, he doesn’t seem to be a nice boy.”

“They're just rumors, he’s not like that in real life.”

There’s a small silent before Stefan talks again. “Well, if that boy ever hurts you, just know that I’ll take care of him.”

Emma pouts at him. “You’re worse than dad sometimes, you know that?”

Her uncle drops his smile at her sentence and frowns, having difficulties to ask something on his mind. She sighs, already knowing what he wants to know.

“He’s not here. He hasn’t been for five years.” The girl crosses her arms on her chest, resulting in the urge to bite her cheek again. “Still call every week though, just like you do.”

“Alright, that’s great.” Emma tries to ignore the subtle meaning behind his words, knowing damn well that her dad and uncle aren’t really friends with each other.

“Why are you here anyway? I thought it was too risky that someone 'recognizes' you as one of the founders of the city.”

“I know, I know. I just... met someone. And I need to see her.”

The teenager stares at him with a suspicious look.

“You... met someone? At Mystic Falls?” Emma raises one of her eyebrows. “When was that?”

“Well, I haven’t really “met” her, I just kind of saw her and.. well...” The girl immediately understands and smirks.

“Awwwn. Does my uncle has a crush on a stranger? Do you need my help?”

“That’s very kind of you, but I already have a plan.” Emma gives him another suspicious look.

“What plan?” Stefan smiles wildly at her.

“What do you think of having a brother at school?”

* * *

“This is embarrassing.” Emma tries to ignore some of the weird stares people send her as she walks beside Stefan, the man not being aware of the attention he’s getting.

“No, it’s not. I’m blending in perfectly.”

“You’re the only one wearing sunglasses, it’s embarrassing.” Stefan gives a side look to the girl and quirks an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong with wearing sunglasses?”

“What’s _wrong_ is that Emma Salvatore is walking beside a complete stranger, who’s the only one wearing sunglasses. It’s totally suspicious. You look like my bodyguard or something.”

“I’m not your bodyguard, I’m your brother.”

“I’m totally not okay about pretending you’re my brother.”

“Why not?”

“It’s weird. It is _so_ weird.”

“You’ll get used to it.” Emma simply shakes her head at him as they get inside the school, her uncle looking around the hallways in wonder. “Which way is the secretary room?”

“That way.” The girl points in a direction before adjusting her bag on her shoulder. “I’m gonna go see my friends while you hypnotize people. Is that alright with you?”

“Go ahead. I’ll find you later.”

She doesn’t wait for him to change his mind that she’s already leaving the spot, almost running into the dozens of hallways to try to find her locker. Luckily, her two friends are right where she’s heading, the girls already discussing some things as she arrives.

“He hates me.”

“That’s not hating. That’s 'you dump me and I’m too cool to show it, but secretly, I’m listening to Air Supply greatest hits.'"

“You guys are talking about Matt?” Elena jumps up when she hears the girl’s voice right next to her, Emma chuckling at her reaction. “Sorry, El’.”

“Hey, Em’? What’s up with the uncle stuff? He’s back in town?”

The girl sighs at Bonnie’s questions, not liking the fact that she’ll need to lie to her friends right now for the sake of her uncle’s secret crush.

“No, he left right after I saw him this morning.” The brown-haired girl opens her locker and takes out some books she’ll need for her first period, giving her two friends a boring look. “My brother’s transferring here, though.”

“Wait, you have a brother?” Emma winces internally while Elena and Bonnie give her surprised expressions. “And you didn’t tell us?”

“Yeah, well... I haven’t seen him in ten years, so...” The girl closes her locker and looks back at her friends. “Never thought I needed to tell you guys about him.”

“Ten years? Wow, that’s harsh.” Emma nods at Elena’s comment.

“Is he hot?”

“Bonnie!”

“Elena! Oh! My! God! How are you?” Blond hair appears in front of the girls' vision before they see Caroline hug Elena, the young brown-haired girl sending the other two a confused stare while she pats the blond’s back. “It is _so_ good to see you!”

Caroline frees Elena before turning to Emma and Bonnie, a worried look on her face.

“How is she, is she good?”

“Caroline, I’m right here.” The blond turns back to Elena to give her a sweet smile. “And I’m fine. Thank you.”

“Really?”

“Yes! Much better.”

The blond sighs in relief and gives Elena a second hug, whispering something along the lines of “poor thing”. Elena rolls her eyes with an awkward smile, patting the blond’s back once again until she frees her, again. That’s when she turns to Emma.

“Emma, hi! How are you?”

The brown-haired girl quirks an eyebrow at the excessive welcome. “I’m good, why?”

“I was just wondering how you’ve been, you know... with Tyler and the thing with Vicky an-”

“Well, I’m great, cause Vicky and Tyler are not a thing.” Emma crosses her arms on her chest, feeling uncomfortable. “They’re just friends, it’s no big deal.”

“Oh, well... if you say so...” The blond takes a big breath before giving the three girls a wide smile, holding her own hands together almost in cheer. “So... see you guys later?”

Once she gets a nod from everyone, she walks away with her usual smile, Elena slightly waving at her leaving form before she turns to Emma and Bonnie.

“No comment.”

That’s how the three girls share an agreeing stare and walk away, hugging each others’ arms.

* * *

“Don’t take more than two in a six-hour window.” Jeremy Gilbert puts two pills in Vicky’s palm, the girl taking no time to gulp them right after she looks around for any suspicious adults. The boy slightly smirks at her action, secretly happy to get closer to her by giving her some of his drugs.

“Hey, Vic’! I knew I’d found you here with the crackheads.”

Jeremy doesn’t even have time to analyze the voice that he sees Tyler walk in front of him, Vicky instantly welcoming him with a warm smile and a side hug. The boy frowns at the sight of the two, a million questions attacking his brain while Tyler takes his joint from him.

“Hey, Pete Wentz called, he wants his nail polish back.”

“Pete Wentz, huh? That’s TRL of you. Carson Daly thing?”

“Ty, Ty!” Vicky stops Tyler from jumping on Jeremy, the girl giving him a long look. “Be nice, be nice! That’s Elena’s little brother.”

“I know who he is.” He turns to Vicky with a smug. “Still kick his ass.”

Jeremy’s frown gets deeper when he sees the two of them kiss, a bad feeling coming to him.

“Hum... last time I checked, you were Emma’s boyfriend.” His comment interrupts the kiss, Tyler giving Jeremy a long look while Vicky quirks an eyebrow. “What happened to that?”

“Well, I’m still her boyfriend, buddy.”

“Wait, you still haven’t broken up with her?” Vicky gives her supposed boyfriend a mean look. “You said you did!”

“I know, I know, I’ll do it. I just don’t want to hurt her, you know?”

“I can’t believe it.” Jeremy shakes his head with a disgusted expression. “She loves you, man. How can you do this to her!?”

“Relax, J’. Once I break up with her, you can have her all for yourself. You still have a huge crush on her, right? Really, I’m doing this for you.”

Jeremy shakes his head and takes a few steps back. “You’re a dick.”

He doesn’t have time to leave that Tyler grabs his arm, already squeezing it too hard with his force and sending the boy a death glare.

“If you tell her about this...” The teenager gives off some creepy vibes. “ **I’ll kill you.** ”

Jeremy feels himself gulp in fear, his whole arm hurting him. That’s when Tyler frees him and gives the boy’s cheek a friendly tap, a wild smile on his face.

“Just wait for the breakup and be the comforting guy, alright? It’ll work out, I promise.”

Frankly, the boy doesn’t really agree on that.

* * *

“Hold up, who’s this?” Bonnie stops Elena and Emma in their walk, pushing them to look at a guy standing in front of the secretary.

“All I see is his back.” Bonnie smirks when she hears Elena’s comment.

“That’s a hot back.”

“Ew!” Elena laughs at Emma’s outburst, Bonnie giving her friend a confused look. “That’s my brother you’re talking about!”

“That’s _your_ brother? Tell me, is the front as hot as the back?”

“Bonnie, that’s disgusting!” Elena laughs out loud at the exchange, the brown girl turning her attention back to Stefan’s back.

“Do you know where he’s coming from?”

“No, I haven’t got the chance to ask him yet.”

“Well, I’m sensing Seattle.” Emma and Elena share a weird stare while Bonnie talks with a psychic voice. “And a place with a guitar.”

Elena sends Bonnie a playful smile. “You’re really gonna roll this psychic thing into the ground, huh?”

The brown girl’s smile grows wider. “Pretty much.”

“I wouldn’t expect less from you.” Bonnie nudges Emma’s side, the girl laughing out loud as Jeremy arrives in the hallway. He freezes when he sees her, the whole scene he just witnessed coming back into his head before he turns around to get inside the bathroom. Elena drops her smile when she sees him, putting her hand on Bonnie’s shoulders as she walks away.

“I’ll be right back.”

Emma sends her friend a worried look, her brown friend’s eyes still glued to her uncle’s back.

“ _Please_ , be hot.”

“He’s not, can we move on?”

“No! I wanna see his face!”

_See what you’re doing to me, uncle Stefan? This is why I didn’t want you to come to school._

“Thank you.” Stefan turns around and walks out of the secretary room, sharing a small smile with Emma as he walks right past her and Bonnie. When he goes into one of the hallways, Emma notices Bonnie staring at Stefan’s form with a dead fangirl expression, Caroline also following him with her eyes from afar.

“He’s hot.”

“No, he’s not!”

“You’re his sister, you can’t see if he’s hot or not.”

“Can you stop putting weird images in my head? It’s really n-”

“Hey, guys.” Elena arrives right after with an awkward vibe, a huge smile on her face. “Emma, I just met your brother... he’s hot!”

“Oh my god, not you too.”

“I know, right?” Bonnie smiles wildly, the two friends totally ignoring Emma’s pleading. “Where did you meet him?”

“Oh, hum... outside the men’s room...”

The girls can’t help but give Elena a weird look.

“What were you doing in the men’s room?”

The girl sighs. “It’s a long story...”

They don’t have time to retort something that the bell rings.

* * *

“Once our home state of Virginia joined the confederacy in 1861, it created a tremendous tension within the state-”

Emma looks around the classroom in boredom while her teacher talks, observing Matt sending Elena a long and depressing look from the seat beside her. She shakes her head at his behavior, not liking to see one of her friends so sad after a breakup, especially when the breakup was due to one of her other friends. She taps Matt’s shoulder and whispers some encouragement to him, making him give her a small smile to thank her. She knows it doesn’t really help, but at least she’s here for him, right?

That’s when they both see Elena exchange a sweet smile with Stefan, Emma’s uncle immediately smiling back happily and continuing to stare at her for a while.

Wait.

Is Elena...?

_Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no-_

“Miss Salvatore, is everything alright?”

_Shoot._

“Just stress, Mr. Tanner. Everything’s fine.” Emma’s response seems to calm her teacher down, who goes on about his history explanation like nothing happened. She looks back at her uncle to see him send her a worried look, the girl sending him back a hard one.

_We’re gonna talk after this class, **brother.**_

* * *

Turns out Emma didn’t get the chance to talk to her uncle after class, because he disappeared right after the bell rang. She also couldn’t find him at all for the whole school day, her friends keeping to bug her with the whole “You’re brother so hot” kind of thing. In the end, she got so mad that she asked Matt if she could hang out with him for the afternoon, ending up sitting next to him at Mystic Grill with Tyler right in front of her. For once, the boy’s holding her hand in his, smiling sweetly at her as his fingers stroke her palm, which makes her feel quite happy. It’s been a while since she got this kind of attention from him and she’s loving it, even if it’s small.

That’s when she notices Jeremy talk to Vicky for a second, the boy getting immediately rejected as the girl walks towards their table with Matt’s food. Emma shares a look with Elena’s brother, his whole expression changing once he sees her with Tyler.

“Thanks, Vick’.” Emma turns her attention back to the people around her, now noticing Vicky sending a sweet smile to her boyfriend.

“ _Would you like a refill?_ ”

Tyler slightly smirks at her and drops Emma’s hand. “ **I’d love one.** ”

Emma’s heart sinks at the little exchange, Matt instantly turning his head at her to see if he’s not the only one noticing something. When he sees the sad expression on her face, he instantly wants to comfort her, but he doesn’t have time to say anything that she’s already standing up.

“I forgot, but I need to help my brother unpack his things.” She forces herself to smile and puts her bag back on her shoulder. “We’ll hang another time, alright?”

“Wait, come here.” Tyler grabs her arm and slowly pulls her back to him, taking his time to give her a kiss. She internally melts into it, her heart already trying to find reasons to calm herself down.

“Okay, okay!” She chuckles as she gets away from him. “I need to go, I’ll text you later.”

As soon as she leaves Mystic Grill, Matt turns to his friend.

“Please tell me you’re not hooking up with my sister.”

Tyler doesn’t even blink that he’s already talking back. “I’m not hooking up with your sister.”

Matt shakes his head at Tyler.

“You’re a dick.” Tyler rolls his eyes and stands back on his chair. “Dude, you have the sweetest girlfriend in the world. How can you do this to her?”

“I know, I know! I’m not a jerk, I just don’t know how to break up with her without hurting her.”

“And you think hooking up with my sister behind her back is **not** going to hurt her?”

“Yeah, you’re right. I didn’t really think this through.”

“You obviously didn’t.” Matt puts a French fry in his mouth before he points at Tyler’s face. “You better tell her the truth soon or I’ll do it, alright?”

Tyler sighs in annoyance. “ _Alright._ ”

None of them have noticed Jeremy running after her.

* * *

“Hey, Emma, wait!”

The girl stops in her tracks, wondering who’s calling for her as she turns around. She smiles when she sees Jeremy stop right in front of her, the boy being completely out of breath.

“Hey, Jay’.”

“Hi!” He smiles excessively at her, almost awkwardly, then sighs in nervousness. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to know how you were doing.”

“You ran out of the Grill just to ask me that?” Emma chuckles and shakes her head, her small smile making Jeremy’s heart flutter. “It’s actually been a very long day, but I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Oh, wait, I, hum...” His words stop her from leaving, the girl noticing that Jeremy’s a little jumpy. “... do... do you mind if I spend time with you?”

“Well, I’m tired, so I was gonna head home, but...” She pushes a strand of hair out of her face, sending him a sweet smile. “I guess you can walk with me for a while... if you want to, that is.”

“Amazing!” He notices how he’s acting and tries to calm down. “I-I mean, that’s great. I’d love to.”

“Great.” Her smile gets wider, the old days coming back into her mind as they start walking together. “Hey, do you remember when I used to sneak into your room to watch you draw?”

Jeremy chuckles, the found memories warming his heart. “Yeah, I do. Elena used to burst in and take you away to play with her a few minutes later, completely mad.”

“Yeah, that’s true. She didn’t like that I was only interested in what you were doing, but you always seemed more important to me back then.”

The boy’s smile grows wider, and his eyes set on Emma’s face for a moment. He just likes her so much. So honest, so sweet. She always treats him like a close friend and never like “Elena’s little brother” like everyone does, which means the world to him. _She_ means the world to him.

“Do you still draw?”

“Oh, hum... no, not really.”

“What!?” Emma’s outburst surprises him but makes him smile in the end. “Why? You’re so talented, it makes no sense that you stopped!”

“Well, I didn’t have anyone to show them anymore, so I stopped.”

“What do you mean, you didn’t _have_ anyone? There was me!”

“Yeah... but... you stopped sneaking into my room, so...”

Emma stays silent for a while, the guilt of never hanging out with him anymore coming back to her. The boy notices what his words have done and he opens his mouth to apologize, but she turns to him and gives him a sly smile before he can talk.

“You’re coming to the party tomorrow, right?”

Jeremy frowns, not understanding the sudden change of conversation. “hum... yeah? Why?”

“How about we spend some time together? Remember the old times? It would be much better than staying with my drunk friends the whole night.”

His whole face hurts from his wide smile, and the happiness he’s getting from her statement makes him feel like he could literally fly into the sky.

“Yeah, you’re right!” Emma chuckles at his reaction, tilting her head at him.

“It’s a date, then.” She says that as a joke as she takes a couple of steps forward, Jeremy stopping into his tracks to watch her with wide eyes. “See you tomorrow, Jay’!”

He waves at her leaving form, his heart beating him like crazy from her words.

* * *

She was sitting on her couch when her uncle got in the house, the girl sending him a death glare as soon as he steps into the room.

“Is the mystery girl named “Elena”, by the way?”

“... you know her?”

“She’s one of my best friends, of course I know her!” The girl gets up from the couch and points at Stefan angrily. “Of all the people in the world, you had to fall in love with _my_ friend! Do you understand how weird, strange and embarrassing it is for me?”

“I do notice that, and I’m very sorry that your friends kept bugging you about me all day, but I just-”

“Save it.” Emma puts her hand on her forehead, sighing in annoyance. “I get it, you already love her and you can’t help it. Just don’t get too lovey-dovey in front of me, okay? And try to make them talk less about you, it’s so weird to me.”

Stefan smiles fondly at his niece, already shuffling her hair on her head. “You’re the greatest niece in the world, you know that?”

“Of course I am, I’m awesome, and don’t touch my hair!” Emma pushes his hand away from her head, pouting angrily at him. “I hate it when you do that.”

Stefan chuckles. “Did you eat dinner?”

“Yeah, there was some spaghetti leftovers that I took.” She rolls her eyes. “Zach was gone sometimes, you know? I learned how to cook.”

“Alright, alright. I’m gonna go change. You should go to sleep, it’s late.”

“Oh my god, it’s only nine PM!” The girl shouts this at her uncle while he leaves the room with vampire speed, a smirk on his face. “I’m seventeen, not eleven!”

She sighs in annoyance, again, then takes the book she was reading on the sofa and walk up the stairs to put it back on the huge shelves. That’s when she hears the entrance door opening and closing, someone almost sprinting inside the house.

“Zach, hi!” She smiles when she sees the familiar face of her distant cousin, but she drops it when she notices his expression. “You seem stressed, is everything alright?”

“Hi, sweetie. No, not really, is Stefan here?”

“He’s in his room, why-”

She doesn’t have the time to finish that he’s already walking into the direction of Stefan’s room. Curious, Emma decides to follow him close behind, wondering why the man who took care of her for the past few years seems so eager to talk to her vampire uncle. When they both come into the room, Stefan only gives them a confused expression.

“You promised.” The man gets out a journal from his back, giving it to Stefan with a hard stare. Emma only has a few seconds to read the headline, which basically tells that two people died of an animal attack.

“This was an animal attack.”

“Don’t give me that.” Zach shakes his head at Stefan. “I know the game. You tear them up and everyone’s suspect an animal attack. _You_ said you had it under control!”

Worry washes over Emma’s head, the old nickname she got for Stefan coming out with her fear. “Is that true, Unkie?”

“No, sweetie, it’s not.” Stefan stares at Zach for a long time. “I got everything under control.”

“Please, Uncle Stefan...” Zach gives the vampire a pleading look. “Mystic Falls is a different place now, it’s been quiet for years, but they are people who still remember! And you being here... it’s just gonna stir things up...”

“It’s not my intention.”

“Then what is?! Why did you come back?! After all this time, why now?!”

_For a girl._

“ **I don’t have to explain myself.** ”

Both of them just stare at each other, Emma not knowing who she should believe at the moment.

“... I-I know, that you can’t change what you are... but you don’t belong here anymore.”

Stefan shakes his head. “Then where do I belong?”

“I can’t tell you what to do. But coming back here was a mistake. Even Emma knows that.”

The man leaves the room by walking past the young teenager, the girl giving her uncle a scared look.

“Emma, it wasn’t me.” He takes a couple of steps forward and puts his hand on her shoulders, looking right at her eyes. “I’m telling the truth.”

“I believe you, Unkie, but...”

“It’s just an animal attack for now, okay? No proof that it’s something else.”

The girl sighs, hugging herself. “Alright...”

“Let’s get you to bed, you seem tired.”

She accepts her uncle’s decision, feeling like the stress is going to drain her life away if she stays up.

* * *

“The battle of Willowcreek took place right at the end of the war at our very own Mystic Falls. How many casualties resulted in this battle?” Mr. Tanner looks around the room for a while and his eyes then set on a particular brown girl. “Miss Bennet.”

Bonnie gives Emma a stressed side look, not really sure about the answer.

“Hum... a lot?” Everyone gives out a chuckle except for the teacher. “I’m not sure, but like a whole lot.”

“Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Miss Bennet.” The teacher shuts down the mood in the class immediately, Emma sending her friend a small smile to comfort her. “Mister Donovan. Would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embodied jock stereotype?”

“It’s okay, Mr. Tanner.” Matt gives out a sly smile. “I’m cool with it.”

The teacher gives out a sarcastic smile while he sets his eyes on another one of Emma’s friend.

“Elena? Surely, you can enlighten us about one of the town’s most significant historical events?”

“I’m sorry, I... I don’t know.”

“I was willing to let go last year for obvious reasons, Elena, but the personal excuses end with the summer break.”

Anger flashed through Emma’s heart, the girl about to burst out the answer to metaphorically slap the teacher’s face when Stefan does it before her.

“They were three hundred and forty-six casualties unless you’re counting the local civilians.”

Mr. Tanner gives a long look at the vampire. “That’s correct. Mister...”

“Salvatore.”

“Salvatore... Any relationship with Miss Emma Salvatore here?”

“She’s my sister, Mr. Tanner.”

_No, I’m not._

“Interesting. I’m guessing you have some relation to the originals settlers here in Falls?”

Emma shares a small look with her uncle, the man nodding awkwardly at the teacher.

“Distant.”

“Well, very good. Except, of course, they were no civilian casualties in this battle.”

“Actually, they were... hum... twenty-seven, sir.” Emma smiles when Stefan stops the teacher with his words, Mr. Tanner giving him a mean look. “Confederate soldiers fired on a church? Believing it to be housing war weapons? And they were wrong. It’s a night of great loss. The founders’ archives are hum... stored in Civil Hall if you’d like to brush up on facts, Mr. Tanner.”

Everyone can’t help but to silently laugh at the teacher’s face, the man not really knowing what to answer. Emma and Matt simply fist bump each other under their desk, both happy to have seen this incredible moment in history.

* * *

“So, this is where the teenage party is.”

“It’s...” Stefan looks around at all of the teenagers around the campfire, a lot of them drinking or kissing. “... well, it’s-”

“Not your style, I know.” She puts her hand on her uncle’s shoulder, slightly smiling at him. “But... Elena’s right over there with Bonnie, so you have a better chance to know her if you want.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He smiles when he sees the brown-haired girl standing beside the bonfire.

“Okay, I’m gonna go now.”

“Hey, hey!” She feels Stefan stops her from leaving. “It’s still a school night, so we’re leaving in an hour and a half.”

She simply rolls her eyes. “Alright, _mom._ ”

The vampire chuckles at the nickname while she leaves, the girl spotting Jeremy sitting in a corner and drinking some beers.

“Hey there, handsome.” His head snaps up when he hears her voice, smiling wildly when she sits beside him. “What are you doing sitting here by yourself?”

“Waiting for this pretty girl to come to talk to me.” Emma snorts at his comment, shaking her head when he hands her a beer. “Thought you wouldn’t come, the party started a while ago.”

“Yeah, Stefan wanted to look his absolute best for tonight, so that’s why I’m late.” She gives the boy a sly smile. “Who knew my brother is such a princess when it comes to-”

Everything drops when she sees them, obviously kissing right in front of her. She feels her fingers try to squeeze the bench she’s sitting on, her heart torn apart. Her eyes can’t stop staring. Jeremy follows her gaze, only to see Tyler and Vicky walking away together into the forest, hands holding and sly smiles on their faces.

“ _Wow._ ” Emma feels the tears come into her eyes, the girl trying to smile to push away the agony. “Just... **wow.** ”

“He’s a dick, Emma. Don’t blame yourself for this.”

“No, I know, it’s just... I knew something was up with him but I... I never thought-”

“Hey, don’t cry, you’re fine.” The boy puts the beer down and hugs Emma, the girl grabbing unto him while she cries her feelings out. “You’re fine, alright? You’re a strong person and you’re gonna get over this.”

“W-why didn’t he just broke up w-with me? I-it would have been s-so much better than this.”

“I know, I know. But Tyler shouldn’t be with you in the first place, you see? You deserve so much better. _So much_.”

“I thought he was better.” Emma tightens her grip on Jeremy, the first memories of her relationship coming back into her mind. “He used to be so sweet...”

“Hey, let’s take a walk, okay? You’re gonna feel better, I promised.”

The teenage girl breathes in, then lets it all out before giving the boy a small smile.

“A-all right, let’s do that. Sorry for crying on your shirt.”

“You can cry on my shirt at any time.” Jeremy frown at his own sentence. “Wait, that sounded desperate.”

A laugh somehow comes out of Emma’s throat, the girl wiping her tears away as Jeremy gets up. When she opens her eyes again, the boy’s handing her his hand, smiling at her.

“Will you take a walk with me, milady?”

She can’t help but crack a smile at his kind of drunk state, the girl putting her hand in his.

“With pleasure, sir.”

* * *

“Thank you for what you did tonight, Jay’. That means a lot.”

“Anytime, Em’. You mean a lot to me.”

Emma turns her head at him and smiles, happy to have someone here with her right now. She opens her mouth to say something when screams come to her ears, both of them turning their attention back to see Vicky trying to get out of Tyler’s grip.

“Ow! No! I said no! Tyler, sto-”

“ _Hey!_ ” She doesn’t even think that she’s already running towards them, her hands pulling Tyler away from Vicky. “Tyler Lockwood, let go of her!”

“What the fuck is your prob-” His face drops when he sees her, her eyes puffy and red. “Em’, I-I can explain.”

“ **Don’t even bother.** ” The girl turns to Vicky, giving her a worried look. “You’re okay?”

“Don’t ask her if she’s okay! Em’, please, just let me explain to you why-”

“Tyler, **stop**.” She turns back to him, sending him a death glare. “We’re over, okay? Stop acting like you care, I know that’s what you wanted for a very long time.”

“Wait- wait a minute, okay? That is _not_ what I wanted! What I wanted was a girlfriend that just let me touch her from time to time, alright?! Heck, even a girlfriend that would let me into her house would have been ni-”

“Leave her alone, Tyler.” Jeremy puts his hand on Emma’s shoulder, the girl having started to tremble under her ex-boyfriend stare, but the boy’s words only pushes Tyler to turn his anger unto him.

“You know what? You’re starting to get on my nerve, Gilbert-”

“No, Tyler!” Vicky pushes him away, her bottom lip shaking in anger. “Get the hell away from us!”

“Wow...” Lockwood tilts his head at her, smirking in frustration. “Who would have thought Vicky Donovan says “no”, huh?”

Emma crosses her arms on her chest. “Just go, Tyler.”

“ _Fine.”_

And with that he leaves, but not before sending a long look at Jeremy, almost threatening him. Emma rolls her eyes in annoyance, turning her attention back on the other girl.

“Vicky, you’re okay?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t need your help.”

“Well, no offense, but it seemed like you did.” Vicky gives Jeremy a defensive expression.

“He was just drunk!”

“That’s no excuse for trying to rape someone!” The girl shakes her head at Emma’s comment, not wanting to believe her.

“ **You just don’t understand.** ”

That’s when she jogs away from the two teenagers, Jeremy, and Emma watching her form disappear into the forest.

“I just...” Emma pushes her hair out of her face, her breathing getting heavier. “I’m sorry, I need to get out of here.”

And just like that, she runs away, leaving the boy alone.

* * *

She was staring at the ground when Caroline sat down next to her, both of them now staring at the ground in silence.

“Your brother’s a jerk.”

Emma gives the blond a side look before rolling her eyes. “Oh _no..._ what has he _done?_ ”

“Don’t give me the sarcastic tone, I’m not in the mood.” The brown-haired girl shakes her head, waiting for her friend to continue. “He told me that he wasn’t interested.”

“That’s actually nice of him.”

“What do you mean, that was nice!? That was humiliating!”

“Well, I just thought that it was nice of him to tell you the truth instead of going out with you and lead you on until one day you discover that he’s a huge piece of shit that’s been cheating on you and-”

“ _Woah._ ” Caroline gives her a confused and worried look. “Are you okay?”

“No. I’m not.” Emma turns her head back at her friend, sending her a sarcastic smile. “I just broke up with Tyler. Turns out the rumors were true.”

“Oh god.” Her mouths open wide, the girl searching for comforting things to say. “Emma, I’m _so_ sorry, I-”

“It’s okay. I’ll move on.” The brown-haired girl sighs. “Just wish I hadn’t wasted all my time on him.”

“We always wish that.” Both girls share a knowing smile, the blond breathing in to say something when-

“ _HELP!_ ”

The girls instantly turn around to see Elena and Jeremy arriving with Vicky in their arms, the girl covered in blood and being unconscious. They put her on a table, Matt and Tyler running over with panic faces.

“ _Oh my god_.” Caroline gets up in worry, Emma soon following her. “Oh my god!”

“It’s her neck! Something bit her! She’s losing a lot of blood, it’s bad!”

Emma’s eyes instantly search for her uncle’s face, Elena’s words echoing in her head as her heartbeat goes faster. She finally finds him, but she turns around to go take the car instead.

She doesn’t like the expression she saw on his face, cause it’s confirming her thoughts.

Vicky was attacked by a vampire.

* * *

When Emma finally arrives at the boarding house, she’s not even surprised to see her uncle Stefan on the ground, a dark figure looking down at him with a visible broken window on the second floor. The car lights manage to make her see the vampire’s entire black back, the girl having a feeling of knowing who the person is as she gets out of the car.

She doesn’t even know how to react when she sees his smug face.

“Emma!” The man smiles wildly at her, slowly walking towards her with open arms. “Come here, my girl! It’s been five years!”

She just stares at him in silence, not having the strength to even move a little when he puts his hands on each side of her head.

“Look how beautiful you are. I’m so proud!”

“What are you doing here, dad?”

Damon loses his smile for a split second, the mean tone Emma used to talk ruining the little moment he was creating. He takes his hands off her head, giving her a small smile.

“No heartwarming reunion, I see. Well, why do you think I’m here, Pumpkin?”

“Selfish reasons.” Emma gives him a hard stare. “Killing people, torturing Unkie-”

“What if I’m here to see you, huh? Have you thought about that?”

“You never come to see me, dad. That’s the thing.” She walks away from him, handing her hand to Stefan. “You’re okay, Unkie?”

“I’m fine, Emma.” He takes her hand and she helps him get up, the man noticing the red around her eyes. “You cried. Are you okay?”

“It was a long night.” She frees his hand and turns around, walking past her dad with a tired expression. “I’m going to bed, you guys do whatever you want.”

And just like that, the roughest night of her life had finally ended


	2. Season 1, Episode 2: The Night Of The Comet

**Season 1, Episode 2: The Night Of The Comet**

“ _Not subtle, Unkie_.”

Despite hearing Emma’s whisper, Stefan continues to share a sweet smile with Elena, his niece rolling her eyes at the situation. The whole “lovey-dovey” thing they always do in history class is making her want to vomit. I mean, her best friend and her uncle are in love with each other. How stupidly weird and strange is that?

“Now the comet will be its brightest right after dawn during tomorrow’s celebration...” Mr. Tanner gives a long look to the two teenagers. “Are we bothering you? Mister Salvatore? Miss Gilbert?”

Elena shakes her head in embarrassment, Emma slightly smirking at the two getting caught. They really weren’t being subtle staring at each other like that. What were they thinking?

That’s when the bell rings, putting Emma out of her thoughts as the rest of the class put their things in their bags. She starts to do the same, putting her bag on her shoulder when someone touches her arm.

“Hey, hum...” She looks up, her eyes meeting blue ones. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Matt.” She gives her friend a small smile. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I know, I just... I wish I could have stopped him from doing that.”

“You can’t control Tyler.” The girl puts her hand the guy’s shoulder. “Stop worrying, I’m fine. This stuff happens all the time and I’m moving on from it, cause I’m strong.”

“You sure are.” They walk out of the class together, the blond giving her a smirk. “But I can go beat him if you want.”

Emma laughs. “Nah, it’s fine. I just wish he learns, becomes a better person and be happy with whoever he wants to be.”

Matt sends her a worried look, shaking his head. “You’re too nice to him, Em’.”

“I’m not nice to him.” She smiles as she stops at her locker, turning her head to her friend. “I’m nice to myself. Being angry will only drag me down.”

“...I guess you’re right.”

It’s Emma’s turn to give him the sad eyes. “How’s Vicky?”

“They keeping a close eye on her, but she’ll be out tomorrow.”

“Thank god.” She closes her locker and spots Bonnie and Caroline walking together from far away. “Hey, I’m gonna go see the girls. I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, yeah, go ahead.”

She doesn’t wait for another response that she’s already running into the direction of her friends, joining them in time to hear about Caroline’s night.

“Well, feel free to conjure me the name and number from that _guy_ from last night.”

“You met a guy?” Both girls jump when they hear Emma’s voice, the teenager only smiling wildly at her blond friend. “When did this happened?”

“She saw a guy when we were at the café last night.” Bonnie answers the brown-haired girl instead of Caroline, the blond already smirking at the memory. “But _I_ didn’t see him.”

“And you don’t have a name? Weird... didn’t you talk to him?”

Caroline looks away in embarrassment. “Hum... no, I didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you just talked to him?” Bonnie playfully quirks an eyebrow at the blond, who just shrugs at the question.

“I don’t know, I was drunk.” All three girls laugh together, walking deeper into the hallways to find a spot to talk freely.

“Oh, hey, Em’.” Caroline suddenly stops walking, turning to the brown-haired girl with concern on her face. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m... fine. Thanks for asking.”

“Wait, what?” Bonnie frowns, turning her head between her two friends. “Did something happened last night?”

“Yeah, I... I broke up with Tyler.” Bonnie’s eyes open wide, clearly not expecting to hear Emma say this. “He was cheating on me with Vicky, so...”

“Are you serious?” Anger flashes into the brown girl’s eyes, the teenager starting to walk angrily into the hallways. “Where is this boy, I’m gonna go kick his ass.”

“Bonnie, it doesn’t matt-”

“Hey, you!” The young woman calls out to a random boy. “You know Tyler, right? Where is he?”

The boy gives her a confused look. “Hum... I think he’s outside.”

Bonnie doesn’t even answer him that she’s already going straight to the exit, Emma and Caroline following her close behind with panic faces.

“Bonnie, please, you don’t need to do this.”

“Emma’s right, violence is not the answer.”

But it’s too late, the brown girl has already spotted Tyler standing beside a fence with two girls. Jeremy Gilbert is also there, the boy looking like he’s just leaving a heated conversation with the jock.

“ _TYLER LOCKWOOD!_ ” Bonnie’s scream takes everyone’s attention, Tyler looking back to see the brown girl sprinting towards him. “Hey there, asshole! Remember what you did to Emma? Cause you’re gonna pay for that!”

“And what are you gonna do?” Tyler smirks at the small girl, Emma, and Caroline arriving right after.”You’re gonna hit me?”

“I’m gonna do more than hit you, you little piece of sh-”

“Bonnie, stop!” Emma takes a hold of her friend’s arm, giving her a scared look. “Let’s just go find Elena, okay?”

The brown girl takes a breath in, turning her head back at Tyler to give him the most intense death stare she’s ever given.

“You’re lucky Emma’s kind enough to forgive you, cause if she didn’t...” She takes a step towards him. “ **You’d be dead where you stand.** ”

With that, Bonnie lets herself get taken away by Caroline and Emma, the two girls trying their best to calm down their friend while Tyler brushes off the threats with some jokes. The girls also walk past Jeremy, who was watching the scene from afar, and he shares a look with Emma.

“Wait, Emma-” The girl stops in her tracks and turns her attention to him, her friends continuing on their path. “I was wondering.. hum... are you free tomorrow night?”

A smile appears on her lips. “You wanna see the comet with me?”

He chuckles awkwardly. “Um... yeah, if that’s alright with you.”

“I’d love too.” She starts to walk to rejoin her friends. “Text me the details, alright?”

“Alright!”

The boy waves at his forever crush, ignoring the death stare Tyler’s giving him from behind.

* * *

“Wow.” That’s the only word Elena gets out after Caroline shares Bonnie’s outburst with her, the whole little group now aware of Emma’s breakup. “Didn’t know you could be such a badass, Bonnie.”

“Yeah, well, if someone hurts my friend, I’m gonna fight for them.”

“You didn’t have to do that.” Emma shakes her head, taking her cup of coffee to drink a sip. “I’m perfectly fine and don’t need protection.”

“You always says that but then you go cry in your bed for three days straight.”

“Alright, alright. Emma had a breakup, let’s move on.” Caroline turns her attention to Elena, a smirk on her face. “I wanna know what happened between our queen and the new boy last night.”

Elena breathes out awkwardly, a small smile on her face. “I-I mean, we just talked all night.”

“Are you gonna ask him to see the comet with you?” Elena gives Emma a small look, her smile growing a little wider.

“Hum.... maybe? I don’t know yet.”

“Oh! Speaking of the comet.” Bonnie puts her hands on the table. “I was talking to grams, and she said the comet is impending doom. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, it brought lots of death. There was so much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity.”

“Hm, yeah. And then you poured grams another shot, and she told you about aliens.”Bonnie and Emma send the blond an offended look, the girl already turning her attention back to Elena. “So then what?”

The crush girl sighs with a smile. “So then nothing.”

“You and Stefan talked. All night. There was no slopey first kiss or touchy-feely of any kind...?”

“Nope. We didn’t go there.”

“Thank god.” Emma puts her coffee down unto the table. “No offense, but I don’t wanna hear about my brother’s sex life. It’s gross.”

Bonnie sends her friend a smile. “It’s understandable.”

“Yeah, but still!” Caroline gives everyone an impatient look. “She could at least share _some_ details with us.”

“We just talked for hours!”

“Okay, then what is with the blockage! Jump his bones already!” Now everyone’s giving the blond a shocked look. “I mean, it’s easy! Girl likes boy, boy likes girl... sex!”

“ _Profound.”_ Elena shares an annoyed look with everyone, playing with a paper that was left on their coffee table. Caroline just chuckles and stays silent, the crush girl eventually taking her bag and getting up a few seconds later.

“Where are you going?” Elena turns back to Bonnie and Emma, both girls confused.

“Caroline’s right.” The blond smiles proudly, also surprised that her friend’s agreeing with her. “It _is_ easy. And if I stay here long enough, I’ll end up talking myself out of it instead of... doing what I, at the start of the day, said I was gonna do.”

“Wait, are you going to my house?” Emma gets up before Elena leaves, stopping her in her tracks.

“Um.. yeah.”

“Well, I’ll come with you. I’ll get a head start into my homework.”

Elena smiles, both girls saying goodbye to their friends before leaving.

* * *

“You know what I just realized?” Emma turns her head back at her friend, both girls almost arriving at the entrance of the boarding house.

“Well, I can’t exactly read your mind, so what about you just tell me?”

Elena rolls her eyes at Emma’s comment, smiling a little. “I just realized that I’ve never actually been inside your house, I’ve only seen the outside.”

“Yeah, my dad doesn’t want me to invite anyone inside unless he knows the people.”

“Oh...” Elena looks around awkwardly, Emma taking out her keys to unlock the door. “Maybe I shouldn’t be here, then.”

Emma looks back at her friend, giving her a smirk. “Nah, screw him. I do what I want now.”

Both girls laugh until Emma stops, taking the keys out of the lock and frowning down at the door.

“What’s wrong?” Elena arrives beside her friend exactly when she opens the entrance, her gaze following the movement of the wooden door.

“It’s weird. It wasn’t locked.” She takes a few steps inside, Elena soon following.

“Maybe your uncle’s here.”

“Yeah...” Emma look around her house while Elena closes the door behind them, the girl feeling suspicious. “Maybe...”

“ _Holy shit.”_ Elena’s whisper makes Emma look back at her, her friend being in complete awe at her house. “This place is beautiful!”

“Meh, it’s fine.” Emma slightly smiles at her friend’s reaction, crossing her arms on her chest. “A little too big for my taste, if you ask me.”

“I really get why Bonnie says this is a mansion.”

“It’s a boarding house, not a mansion.”

“I also get why she says you’re in denial.”

Emma laughs, starting to walk away. “I’m gonna go see if Stefan’s here. Feel free to wander around.”

“Oh, trust me, I will.”

As soon as Emma disappears into one of the big hallways, Elena looks around, taking in the walls and the beautiful decorations. She’s about to step in the grand living room when she hears a door open, turning around to see that it’s the door entrance.

She frowns. Didn’t she just close it?

That’s when a crow barges in, scaring her and making her turn around. She almost screams when she sees a man standing a few centimeters away from her, watching her with a small smile.

“Hu-hum... S-sorry for looking like I just barge in. I came in with Emma.”

“Emma?” The man tilts his head and his smile grows wide. “You know my Pumpkin?”

“Hum... Pumpkin...? Yeah, I know her... we’ve been best friends for years, now...” Elena smiles awkwardly, surprised by the nickname he’s giving her friend. The man nods at her response, realization seeming to hit him as he points at her with his finger.

“You must be Elena.” He then points to himself, his eyes not getting off of her. “I’m Damon, Stefan’s and Pumpkin’s older brother.”

“Oh, they didn’t tell me they had a brother.” Elena blinks a few time, then she looks away. “Then again, Emma never told me she had any siblings either.”

“Well, Stefan’s not one to brag. And Pumpkin hasn’t seen me in five years, so...” Damon loses his smile for a second, but he gets it back immediately. “Please, come! I’m sure my siblings will be here any second.”

The vampire shows the living room with his hand, leading Elena into the room right after.

“Wow.” The girl smiles at the sight. “I can’t believe Emma never hold any parties here, this living room is amazing.”

“Living room, parlor, Sotheby’s auction... but Pumpkin couldn’t invite anyone.” He turns to her with a smug. “Dad’s orders.”

“Yeah, she told me.” Her eyes keep looking around the room. “Feels like he wanted to seclude her from people.”

“ _Protect her,_ not.. _._ ” Damon stops himself from continuing his sentence, giving her a small smile. “Anyway, I see why Stefan so smitten. It’s about time.”

Elena gives him a confused look, the man taking the chance to settle his trap.

“For a while, I never thought he’d get over the last one. _Nearly_ destroyed him.”

“The last one?” Elena loses her smile, now giving Damon a sad look.

“Yeah, Katherine? His girlfriend?” Seeing Elena’s reaction, the vampire responds instantly. “Oh, you two haven’t had the awkward exes conversation yet...”

Elena, as if on cue, sighs awkwardly. “... no...”

“Oops. Well... I’m sure it’ll come up now.” Damon turns back to her, slightly frowning. “Or maybe he didn’t want to tell you because he didn’t want you to think he was on the rebound.”

Elena nods, her mind imagining all sorts of things.

“We all know how those...” The vampire stares at the empty space. “... relationships end.”

“You say it like...” Elena shakes her head, frowning at the man in front of her. “Every relationship is doomed to end.”

“I’m a fatalist.” Damon smiles, looking right into the girl’s eyes. “Hello, Stefan.”

The girl gasps, turning around to see her crush staring meaningly at Damon.

“Elena.” His voice is dark, almost sending shivers down her spine. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Oh, I know, I should have called-”

“Don’t be silly, you came with Pumpkin! Besides, you’re welcome anytime!” Damon takes a few steps forward, smiling at his brother. “Isn’t she, Stefan?”

Stefan just stares at his brother, Elena smiling awkwardly.

“You know, I should break out the family photo albums or some old movies, but I have to warn you...” The dark vampire looks back at Elena. “He wasn’t such a looker.”

“Thank you for stopping by, Elena.” Stefan tries to find a way for his new love to get away from Damon, a threatening vibe coming off him. “It was nice to see you.”

Elena blinks a few times, looking rather disappointed.

“Oh, hum... yeah. I should probably go.” She turns back to the man next to her. “It was nice to meet you, Damon.”

He takes her hand in his, still smiling. “Great meeting you too, Elena.”

He then kisses the back of her hand, not once breaking eye contact with her. She awkwardly smiles and walks away, stopping in front of Stefan, who’s blocking her way.

“Stefan?” He doesn’t seem to hear her, the young vampire still staring at his brother. “... Stefan?”

He finally seems to notice that he’s blocking her way, the young man simply stepping aside to let her pass. She blinks again, clearly not happy about the way he’s treating her right now, but she brushes it off and walks towards the entrance.

“El’, wait!” Emma arrives from Elena’s left, the girl stopping right beside her and looking like she’s almost out of breath. “You’re leaving already? Why- Oh.”

The young girl notices her dad smiling at her from the living room, her uncle slightly moving his head to be able to see her.

_I didn’t know he was still here._

“Yeah, I’m... I’m gonna leave.” Emma turns her attention back to her friend, giving her a small smile.

“Alright, be safe out there.”

“Yeah...” Elena is about to leave when she stops, giving her friend a worried look. “Em’? Are you sure you’re alright?”

Emma frowns, Elena’s question piquing the vampires’ curiosity.

“Of course I’m alright. Why?” Elena sighs, giving her friend a small smile.

“Well, if you ever need anything, at any time, day or night... you call me, okay?”

The girl smiles back at her friend. “Thank you.”

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Elena turns her head back at the two vampires. “Bye guys.”

Damon waves at the girl while Emma shuts the door.

“Now, now.” The dark vampire walks over his daughter, the girl rolling her eyes at his smug face. “Why is Elena so worried about you, Pumpkin?”

“No reason.” She walks away from him, Stefan squinting his eyes at her. “I’m gonna go do homework.”

“ **Emma.** ” Stefan’s voice makes her turn back to him, the girl waiting for him continue. “What happened last night?”

She sighs, rolling her eyes in annoyance. “I broke up with Tyler, it’s no big deal.”

“Wait, you had a boyfriend?” The girl cringes when she hears her father’s tone, his smile disappearing to reveal a scorn look instead. “I told you to tell me when you get a boyfriend!”

“So you could kill him? Yeah, no thank you.”

“I wouldn’t have “killed” him just... scared him a little...”

“That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you, dad.” Emma gives him a hard look. “You scare them a little, then you killed them.”

“ **What has he done?** ”

Stefan’s question seems to take Emma by surprise.

“What do you mean?”

“If you broke up with him, he must have done something. So... what has he done?”

Her whole annoyed phase seems to shift to an awkward one, the girl crossing her arms over her chest and looking away.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay, I need to find this guy and kill him. His name’s Tyler, right?”

“Dad, no!” The girl points at Damon. “No killing anyone!”

He just grins at her. “Can’t promise that, Pumpkin.”

“And stop calling me Pumpkin! I’m not five anymore!”

“Awn.” The vampire pinches her cheek, his grin getting wider. “You’ll always be my little Pumpkin... _Pumpkin._ ”

“Ugh...” She pushes his hand away, pouting angrily. “You guys are the worst. I’m going to do my homework.”

“Wait, Emm-” She doesn’t listen to her uncle and simply climbs the stairs.

* * *

The next night, Emma successfully managed to join Caroline on a field in front of the Mystic Grill, the girls now discussing random things while they wait for their friends to arrive. The blond plays carefully with her lit candle, giving her friend a sly look.

“So.... Stefan and Elena didn’t have sex?”

“Ew, Car’!” Emma turns her head at her blond friend, a cringe expression on her face. “Stop asking me about that, it’s disgusting!”

“I just want to know why it didn’t happen!” Her voice changes to a darker tone. “Why didn’t it happen?”

Emma simply shrugs.

“Not the right time, I guess. We got a... non-wanted visitor yesterday.” The girl notices that Caroline’s looking around the huge field, her eyes searching for something. She rolls her eyes at her behavior. “Are you even listening to me?”

“Yeah, yeah, I am.” The blond continues to look, not even phased by her friend’s question. “I’m just searching for that hot guy.”

“What hot guy?” Caroline gives Emma an annoyed look. “Oooooh, _the_ hot guy. You think he’s coming to see the comet?”

“Actually, I saw him earlier, but he disappeared before I coul-”

“ **Hey.** ”

The girls turn around to see none other than Tyler Lockwood, his hands trapped in his jean’s pockets and his dark expression making the girls shiver. His deep brown eyes stare at Emma in particular, the girl hugging herself with one arm.

“Hi, Tyler!” Caroline smiles excessively, gaining the boy’s attention. “Is Matt with you or are you alone?”

“... He’s coming.” His eyes return on Emma’s face. “Can I talk to you?”

There’s a small silence where the brown-haired girl doesn’t really seem like she wants to talk to him, but she eventually sighs, starting to play with her own lit candle in her hand.

“... Yeah, sure.” Emma gives her blond friend a small smile. “Can you pick a candle for Tyler, Car’?”

“... alright.”

The blond leaves, letting the two exes together.

“Hum...” Emma talks before Tyler can. “Sorry about Bonnie yesterday. I really didn’t want this to happen.”

“It’s fine.” He shrugs, his feet taking him closer to her. “Not the first threat I got that day.”

She frowns, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Your rebound guy wanted to look tough.” The guy smirks, the memory coming back to him. “He said he’d kill me if I hurt you or Vicky again.”

Emma sighs in irritation. “Jeremy’s not my rebound guy.”

“Oh, really?” He approaches his face to her, a dangerous vibe coming off him. “Then why are you going on a date with him?”

“Why not?” Her response seems to take him by surprise, the girl now looking at him with an annoyed expression. “He’s kind, he cares for me and I’ve known him for years now. So why not? Why do _you_ care anyway?”

“So two days after our breakup, you’re already going on dates?”

“Like you’re not?” He doesn’t seem to know how to answer that. “Tyler, you’re the one who wanted us to break up in the first place.”

“Yeah, but I never thought...” He looks away for a moment, stopping himself from finishing his sentence.

“... never thought what?”

He looks back at her, a certain sadness in his eyes. “I never thought you’d move on so quickly.”

She doesn’t even know what to respond to that.

“Wow.” Her expression turns into a grin of anger. “So you’re saying that I’m supposed to be a mess right now? Crying and begging you to come back to me?”

“Wait, no, that’s not what I-”

“Well, _I’m sorry_ , but I’m not gonna do that. But if you want to take up that role, **be my guest.** ”

“Emma, wait! Emma-” He follows her step, the girl still clearly angry and trying to join Caroline and Matt at a nearby table. “Hey, I’m sorry, okay? It came out wrong.”

“Maybe you should take more time to think before you speak, then.” Her candle goes out, a sound of frustration coming out of her throat. “Now, look what you made me do.”

“It’s just a candle, I don’t even know why we have to light these stupid things anyway.”

She gives him a harsh look. “Of course you wouldn’t.”

“Will you chill out? You’re acting like a bitch right now.”

“Oh _, I’m_ acting like a bitch?” She shakes her head, a sarcastic smile coming on her face. “You know what? Next time you talk to me, be sure to have grown up.”

“Okay, Emma, I’m sor-” She leaves him there, her friends watching the scene from two feet away. Tyler turns to them, an annoyed look on his face before he joins them and takes a candle from Caroline’s hands. Emma, on the other hand, simply continues to walk away in the dark, not wanting to be near him anymore. Maybe she shouldn’t forgive him for what he did. Maybe he needs her to talk some smart into him so he can be less stupi-

“Hey, Em’.” Jeremy’s voice takes her out of her angry thoughts, his smile making her calm down in an instant as he points at her candle. “Need help with that?”

“Yeah, thank you.” She smiles sweetly, her shoulders loosen up as he lit her candle with his. “Were you looking for me?”

“Find you fast enough.” His brown eyes look into her green ones, the light in them making her want to never stop smiling. “It’s easy when you’re the most gorgeous girl in the world.”

Emma laughs, a warm feeling spreading around her chest while she hides her smile.

“ _Oh my god_.” She tries to calm down her laughter, succeeding after a few seconds. “I didn’t know you could be cheesy.”

“It was bad, wasn’t it?” He scratches the back of his head in embarrassment, the boy turning his attention to the sky. “Maybe we should just watch the comet for now.”

She shakes her head at his nervousness, accepting his request for now and looking up at the sky instead. Through the trees, she notices a small open area where she can see the moon looking like a croissant, a giant ball of light slowly passing by it.

“I can’t believe I get to see this.” She feels overwhelmed by the sight of the comet. And the fact that millions of people didn’t even get the chance to see this... it’s amazing in her eyes.

“Yeah, me neither.”

She turns her head back at him to see him staring for a split second, Jeremy turning his face at the sky in the instant with slightly red cheeks. She chuckles, a wider smile creeping onto her lips.

“You were staring at me!”

“What? Pff. No, I wasn’t.”

“Yes, you were!” She laughs again, her expression softening. “I like it.”

He turns his head back at her, confusion in his eyes. “What?”

“Catching you staring at me.”

The boy instantly smirks. “Well, it’s the first time you’re succeeding at catching me.”

She gasps. “Are you telling me you’re a stalker?”

“ _Excuse me_ , but I’m not a stalker. I’m a... researcher.” His grin stretches out, his eyes lightening up. “You just happened to be a good subject.”

She snorts, slightly pushing his shoulder while he laughs. “You’re such a dork.”

“A dork that likes you a lot.”

She loses every ounce of breath, her lungs and her heart burning together in a rage. She looks back at him, the candlelight making his whole face glow, and sees a certain sweetness in his eyes. She feels her whole body get warmer and her brain screams at her to say something. She chuckles awkwardly, a smile still set on her lips.

“You seem pretty sure of that.”

“Awn, come on, we’d look cute together.” She laughs at his comment, taking a strand of her hair out of her face in shyness.

“I guess we would.” She looks into his eyes, the boy slowly getting closer. She feels her face get warmer, both of them closing their eyes and-

“ _Hey, Gilbert!_ ” Both teenagers jump up, turning around to see none other than Tyler screaming from his seating place. “Going for the desperate ones, I see!”

Caroline, Matt, and Bonnie – who just joined them – give the guy a shocked look, Tyler only sending Emma and Jeremy a death glare. The girl’s heart shatters a little at his insult, the possibility of him being mature for even one second deleting itself from her mind.

“I swear, I’m gonna kill hi-”

“No, don’t.” Emma stops Jeremy by putting her hand on his shoulder and sadly smiles at him. “He’s just pissed that I’m not a mess. Trust me, he’s not worth the drama.”

“Yeah, but still.” Jeremy sends Tyler a dark look. “That’s not a reason to insult you like that.”

“I’m fine, Jay’. You don’t have to worry about me.” Her smile gets warmer. “You make me happy right now.”

She sees him get flustered, a grin spreading on his face. “I am?”

“You are.” She chuckles and kisses his cheek, handing him her candle. “Can you hold this for me? I need to go to the bathroom.”

He hesitantly takes it. “You sure? The comet’s almost over. We can wait a few minutes then go to Mystic Grill together.”

“Yeah... but I _really_ need to go.” She slowly walks away, smiling wildly at him. “Join me after? I’ll buy you coffee and some fries!”

He chuckles, accepting her proposition by waving at her. She sends him a wave back and walks towards the Mystic Grill, the girl instantly losing her smile as soon as she turns around. She slowly breathes in to try to stop the tears coming out of her eyes, but she can’t stop a few from running down her cheeks. She wipes them away when she steps in the restaurant, almost empty of people, and paces around the tables to get to the girls’ bathroom when-

“ _Pumpkin!_ ” She groans and turns around to see her dad sitting at a table, a beer in his hand and a smug on his face. “Is the comet already boring you?”

“What are you doing here?” He doesn’t even seem to care about the tone of her voice anymore, simply showing the chair in front of him.

“Why don’t you sit down with me? Have a little chat? We haven’t got the chance to since I came back.”

“No, thank you.” She starts to walk away, Damon instantly whining.

“Awn, come on, Pumpkin... just five minutes! I’ll leave you alone after, I promise.”

She gives him a suspicious look, the vampire only tilting his head at her.

“... please?”

“Ugh, fine.”

She reluctantly sits down in front of him, crossing her arms on her chest and staying silent. They both stare at each other, Damon shaking his head with a smile.

“Still angry at me, I see.”

“You kill people. Of course I’m angry.” He takes a sip of his beer while she sighs. “Did you have to tell me something or...?”

“I heard the little drama outside.” She gives him a shocked look and he smirks. “Seems like you got a case of jealousy out there.”

“How did you...?” She shakes her head, realization outside. “Of course. You used your super ears to spy on me.”

“I’m just looking out for my little daughter, that’s all.” He puts his beer down onto the table. “Do you need advice, sweetheart?”

It’s her time to smirk. “Last time I checked, all your relationships sucked.”

“Now, now, let’s not be mean.” He slightly points his finger at her, talking to her with a parental voice. “I’m just giving out advice.”

“I don’t want advice from a killer.”

Damon rolls his eyes. “Yes, I’m a vampire and I kill people. You’ve known this for years, Pumpkin. Why are you mad now?”

“Maybe because I’m not seven anymore?” She quirks an eyebrow at him. “I can take care of my own human problems, dad.”

“Can you really? Cause you were going to cry in the bathroom just now.”

She stares at him with a death stare. “Well, _sorry_ for having emotions. Do you remember what emotions are?”

“Ouch.” He puts a hand on his chest, sarcastically smirking. “I’m hurt, really. Who raised you, Pumpkin?”

“Zach raised me.” Her response makes him lose his smile, the man now giving her something that resembles a sad expression. He swallows another sip of his beer, putting it down on the table right after. He opens his mouth to tell her something when-

“I know you.”

Both of them turn their heads to see Vicky standing there, the girl staring at Damon with interest. The vampire smirks, tilting his head at her while his daughter gives her a curious expression.

“Well, that’s unfortunate.”

“More like disastrous.” Damon turns his head to his daughter, giving her a sarcastic smile that she sends him back immediately.

“Hum...” Vicky steps a little closer, confusion spreading around her face. “I-I don’t know why... but... your face...”

Emma uncrosses her arms, thinking fast to give the girl a distraction. “How are you, Vicky?”

She blinks a couple of times and turns her head to the brown-haired girl, confusion still presents on her face.

“Hum... I’m fine, I guess.”

“Good, good.” Emma’s smile seems to darken a little. “Has Tyler come talk to you?”

Vicky awkwardly chuckles, extremely nervous by the question, then excuses herself to leave in the bathroom’s direction. Damon frowns at the exchange, quirking an eyebrow at his daughter.

“Isn’t Tyler your ex-boyfriend?”

Emma sighs in annoyance. “Let it go, dad.”

“Oh, wait, I see!” He points at the direction Vicky left, a dark smile setting on his features. “She’s his new girlfriend, isn’t she? Did that boy cheated on you?”

“Dad.” She sends him a warning look. “Let. It. Go.”

He licks his lips. “Alright.”

He stands up, Emma soon mimicking him with suspicion. “Where are you going?”

“Killing this girl, of course. She _clearly_ remembers me.”

“No, she doesn’t!” She stops him from leaving by taking a hold of his arm, Damon sighing in discontent. “Dad, I swear, if you even hurt her...”

“Awn, I’m sorry sweetie, but...” He puts his hand on each side of her head, tilting his head another time. “Not even you can stop me.”

A dreadful feeling washes over her when he suddenly disappears from her vision, the danger making her run outside in panic.

* * *

“Hey!” Jeremy arrives later at Emma’s friends' table, looking at everyone. “Have you guys seen Emma?”

“You’re a stalker, you tell us.” Jeremy ignores Tyler and looks at the others.

“Vicky’s missing too. I can’t find them.”

“They probably find somebody else to party with.” Tyler smiles wildly at the boy. “Sorry pill pusher... I guess you’ve been replaced.”

Elena squints her eyes at the guy, confused.

“What’s with the pill pusher?” Tyler’s smile stretches out.

“Ask him.”

Jeremy sends Tyler an angry look. “You wanna do this right now?”

“Are you dealing?” The boy tries to ignore his sister’s disappointed expression, Tyler enjoying the moment.

“Emma will never go for you, you know?”

Jeremy turns his head back at him, staring at him in rage. He’s about to answer him when Elena raises her hand.

“Wait, you’re going out with Emma?” Elena shares a look with Jeremy, who only nods at her question. “Why didn’t I know about this?”

“You’re serious?” Caroline chuckles and gives everyone a sly smile. “They got a date tonight. Looked like it was going pretty well.”

Tyler squints his eyes in denial. “No, it wasn’t.”

“It was great until you forced your way into it.” Jeremy points at Tyler. “Just like you forced your way with Vicky, remember?”

Tyler stares at Jeremy like he’s going to kill him, Matt’s behavior changing into a dark one.

“What the hell is he talking about, Ty’?”

“Nothing Matt, just ignore him, he’s a punk.”

“You know what?” Matt raises both of his hand, his voice getting stronger. “How about you all just shut up and help me find Emma and my sister?”

“We’ll...” Bonnie points to the door, sharing a look with Caroline. “... check the back.”

“I’ll check the square.” Matt leaves with Jeremy behind him.

“I’ll come with you.”

“Oh, no, no, no.” Elena takes Jeremy’s arm, anger in her eyes. “You’re coming with me. So... that’s your game now? Dealing?”

“I’m not dealing.”

“Look, I’m sick of the tough love speak, Jer’. It’s clearly having no impact.”

“You and Jenna, between the two of you, it’s-”

“We can stop, if you want.” Elena gives her brother a hard look. “Send you to a therapist, who you’ll be forced to deal with it, or to rehab where you’ll sit in a group and tell strangers how you let your life pull apart... or you can talk to me.”

Jeremy shakes his head at his sister. “I prefer none of the above.”

And that’s how the boy leaves, desperately wanting to find Emma as soon as possible.

* * *

“Hey.” Stefan looks behind him to see Matt arriving.

“Hey.”

“Have you seen my sister?” The man gives Matt a confused look.

“No, sorry.”

“Can’t find her. Her and Emma are missing. Have you seen your sister around?”

“No, I...” Stefan seems to think, giving Matt a worried look. “I’ll keep an eye out for them.”

“Hey!” Matt stops him from leaving, the vampire looking back once more. “I saw you at the hospital yesterday.”

Stefan stays silent, slowly coming back to the blond. “... did you?”

“What were you doing there?” The vampire stares at the boy for a small moment, detecting suspicion into Matt’s behavior.

“Visiting.”

Matt squints his eyes at the man. “Visiting...? You know, Elena and I, we’ve known each other for a long time. And we might not be together right now, but... I’ll look out for it. I’ll always lookout for it.”

Stefan nods with a small sadness clearly seen in his eyes. He feels like he should answer something, but he instead hears something in the distance and moves his head to hear it clearer.

“ _You really should stop screaming..._ ”

“ _No, please, no!”_

“ _Dad, stop! Bring her down!”_

“ _Don’t come up, Pumpkin, or I’m letting her fall!”_

“ _Please, let me go... Oh god, please, let me go...”_

“ _Shhhh, I got you...”_

“ _Dad! No!"_

Stefan looks back at Matt, the boy giving him a worried look.“Excuse me.”

The vampire walks by the blond human, going straight forward to the second set of apartments around the little park. That’s when he sees Emma standing on the ground, the girl looking up at Damon holding unto Vicky and threatening to drop her. The teenager looks behind her with tears on her face, finally seeing her uncle.

“Unkie, save her!”

He doesn’t wait for another reply that he runs, his vampire speed taking him up on the roof in less than one second. Damon squints his eyes at him with a smile, one hand behind Vicky’s back and the other on her mouth.

“Not bad.” The dark vampire tilts his head. “Have you been eating bunnies?”

“Let her go.”

“Really...? Okay!”

“No!”

Stefan screams before Damon can let the girl fall, and Emma puts her hands on her mouth to stop her own screams of terror. The dark vampire smirks, pushing Vicky unto Stefan instead.

“Relax. I don’t need her to be dead, even if I really want to avenge my little Pumpkin, but... you might.”

While the two vampires start a heated conversation, Emma sighs in relief. But the subtle message her dad gave to her uncle pushes her to try to get on the roof, the girl now running over the entrance door. She tries to open it, but it’s locked. Angry, she presses every alarm buttons on the board, hoping that someone answers her.

“ _What is it?”_

“H-hi!” Hope strikes in herself. “Sorry for bothering you, but my friend is stuck on the roof and called me for help. Do you think you can let me in?”

“ _... yeah, alright._ ”

“Thank you!” She hears the sound of the unlocking door, getting inside as fast she can. She runs up the stairs, her head turning around to try to find the way to the roof. She ends up finding it after a few minutes, opening the door. That’s when she sees Vicky on the ground, conscious and confused, while her dad and her uncle are looking back at her own entrance.

“Hello there, Pumpkin.” Emma rolls her eyes at her dad, walking over to Vicky and taking her hands.

“Vicky, you’re alright?” The girl chuckles, shaking her head.

“I took some pills, girl.” She continues to chuckle. “I’m _good._ ”

Emma notices the blood on her neck, giving her dad a long look. He only shrugs at her, Stefan looking away from the open scar to control himself.

“Alright, let’s get back to Mystic Grill.” The teenager helps the stoner to get up on her feet. “Matt’s worried about you.”

“Matt? Oh no, is he looking for me?”

“Let’s just get you there, okay?” The girl helps Vicky to walk towards the roof’s exit, both girls slowly going away from the two vampires.

“Awn, Emma, you’re too sweet to me...” Emma opens the door, Vicky coming in the set of apartments first. “I’m _so_ sorry for me and Tyler. I didn’t want to hurt yo-”

“It’s fine, Vicky. I forgive you.”

The brown-haired girl slightly pushes the eighteen-year-old one towards the stairs, looking back to see Stefan giving her a confused stare. She also notices her dad mouthing the words “let me kill her” with a huge grin. She shakes her head at both of them, closing the door behind her.

“Let’s go.”

* * *

Bonnie and Caroline give Vicky a long look from afar, Matt taking care of her for now. Emma awkwardly drinks her coffee, happy to have found a good explanation for both Vicky’s and her own disappearance.

“I can’t believe she tried to jump off that building while being stoned.” Caroline smiles at Emma. “And I can’t believe you tried to save her!”

“ _Tried_ is the word.” Emma puts her coffee down. “Stefan saved her.”

“Still.” Bonnie takes Emma’s hand in hers, slightly squeezing it in comfort. “She’s lucky you followed her.”

“Ugh. So much drama.” Caroline’s voice makes them look back at Vicky, seeing Matt now talking to Stefan. “Ever notice that the druggies are the biggest attention whores?”

“Yeah...” Both Bonnie and Emma says that at the same time, Stefan arriving beside them.

“Excuse me, hi.” He smiles, his niece tiredly smiling back while her friends greet him with joy. “Have you guys seen Elena?”

“I think she went home...” Bonnie’s response makes Stefan loses his smile, the man nodding in disappointment.

“I see...” The man is about to leave them when the brown girl stops him with her voice.

“Wait, I’m gonna give you...” She looks around her bag, getting out a piece of paper and a pencil. “... Elena’s cell number and her email. She is big on texting and you can tell her that I said so.”

“Thank you.” She smiles wildly at the man and hands him the paper, Stefan taking it. When she touches his hand, she gasps and gets away from him, now sending him a horrified look. Everyone frowns in confusion, Stefan tilting his head.

“You’re okay?”

“ _What happened to you...?_ ” There’s a small silence before Bonnie gets back to reality, smiling awkwardly. “That’s so rude... I’m sorry, excuse me...”

She stands up and leaves, Stefan’s eyes following her leaving form.

“Don’t worry, Stefan.” He turns his attention back to his niece. “It’s not the first time she does this.”

“Yeah... she kind of _wigs_ out.” Caroline smirks. “It’s like her thing.”

Stefan nods, giving Emma a long look. “You’re ready to go?”

“Hum, actually...” The brown-haired girl plays around with her cup. “I think I’ll stay a little bit longer. Bonnie said she’ll give me a lift.”

“Alright. Stay safe.” He smiles and walks away, leaving his niece with Caroline.

“I can’t believe you never told us about him.” Emma rolls her eyes at her friend’s comment. “Seriously, why didn’t you?”

“Again, why talk about him when you don’t know if you’ll see him again?”

“Good point.” The blond suddenly smiles, pointing behind Emma. “Gilbert’s here.”

The brown-haired girl turns around to see Jeremy come into the bar, the boy clearly looking around in search of someone. She smiles, turning back to her blond friend while standing up.

“Don’t drink my coffee.”

“I’ll drink it if I want.”

Emma chuckles and walks towards Jeremy, the boy’s eyes gleaming when he finally sees her. Both of them smile wildly when they get closer, Gilbert opening his mouth to talk.

“Hey, yo-” He gets cut off by her hands grabbing his head, Emma instantly putting her lips on his. He closes his eyes after the surprise, enjoying the moment by putting his hands on her back. She frees him after a minute, both of them looking at each others’ eyes as they’re taking their breath.

“Sorry. I really wanted to do that.”

Jeremy smiles. “I don’t mind one bit.”

Chuckling, Emma lets herself get kissed by him this time, both of them unaware of the glare Tyler’s sending them from the side.


	3. Season 1, Episode 3: Friday Night Bites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Sexual Harrassment

**Season 1, Episode 3: Friday Night Bites**

Stefan crosses his arms on his chest, a small smug on his face while he observes his niece running around the kitchen in a complete panic. The girl actually woke up ten minutes ago and has been running around like crazy to dress, brush her hair, make her bag and now, making herself breakfast. Yes, her uncle “could” help her with his vampire speed, but she needs to learn how to be more responsible...

And it’s so much more fun this way.

“We’re gonna be late.”

“ _Don’t overstress me!_ ” The vampire chuckles, Emma finally putting the toasted bread full of peanut butter into her mouth. She walks past her uncle, giving him a hard look.

“What are you looking at? Let’s go!”

He shakes his head and uses his speed to wait for her in the car, the girl groaning in annoyance as she starts to run over. She finally gets inside after a few seconds, Stefan smiling at her grumpy face.

“You got everything you need?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“ _Yes!_ Now _go_!”

He chuckles, staying silent as he starts the car. While he’s driving, Emma puts down the car’s mirror, looking at herself to try to replace her hair. She sighs in annoyance when she notices that she can’t make it look better, pushing the mirror back up and turning her annoyed expression to Stefan.

“You could have _at least_ helped me a little.”

He simply shrugs. “You didn’t ask.”

“Ugh. You’re the worst.”

He just smiles at her comment, both of them enjoying the silence in the car. They park at the school ten minutes later, both of them getting out with their bags on their shoulders. That’s when Emma spots Elena and Bonnie in the middle of the schoolyard, tapping her uncle’s shoulder to get his attention.

“Elena’s over there.” She points at where her friends are and Stefan smiles at the sight of his girlfriend. “I’ll go find Jay’, see you in class.”

She passes her friends without getting noticed, a huge smile on her face at the thought of seeing Jeremy again. She notices Matt playing football with Tyler and another guy, the girl exchanging a look with the blond.

“Morning, Matt.”

He smiles at her. “Morning, Em’.”

“Hey Em’!” The girl rolls her eyes at Tyler’s voice, trying to walk past him when he puts himself in front of her. “What? You’re not wishing me good morning?”

“Morning, Tyler.” She tries to walk away from him, but he keeps moving around to stop her from passing. “What do you want?”

He smiles wildly. “I just wanna know where you going.”

“Gonna go see my boyfriend. Now if you’ll _excuse_ me.”

She slightly hits him with her shoulder, ignoring the mad look on his face when she said she had a boyfriend. Matt laughs at his friend’s face, telling him that he was looking for it. Tyler groans and walks back to his friend in silence, Emma herself walking around the campus to find Jeremy. She eventually ends up in the druggies hang out place, awkwardly going through some people as she spots the young boy.

“Hey, Jay’.” She touches his shoulder while sitting down, the boy taking off his headphones and smiling at her. “I have a proposition for you.”

“Let me guess.” He gives her a small kiss before he continues talking. “You wanna go on a date tonight?”

She chuckles, shaking her head in amusement. “Busted.”

“Well, proposition accepted.” He takes her hand in his and they both intertwine their fingers. “Dinner at Mystic Grill then?”

“That’s perfect.”

“Hey, guys.” Vicky suddenly arrives beside them, a huge smile on her face. “You’re so cute together, you know that?”

Emma smiles while Jeremy laughs in embarrassment, scratching the back of his head.

“Why, thank you, Vicky.”

The young girl smiles as Vicky sits down beside her, the eighteen-year-old acting very friendly these days. Jeremy tilts his head at her, looking at where her bite mark is.

“How’s your neck?”

“Better, thank you for asking.” Her smile gets wider when she turns her attention on Emma. “And thank _you_ for saving me the other night.”

“Awn, no need to thank me. You would have-” She gets cut off by the ringing bell, telling all students that classes will start soon. “Oh, I better get going.”

“You can skip classes with me if you want.” Emma laughs at Jeremy’s comment.

“I would love to, but I have to give back a history assignment this morning.” She gives him a kiss, both enjoying each other for a few seconds before parting away. “Text me later?”

“I will.”

“Great. Bye, Vicky!” She walks away and waves, her feet leading her to her class.

* * *

“World war two ended in...?” Mr. Tanner looks around at everyone, waiting for a response with annoyance. “Anyone got anything? Miss Salvatore?”

“1945, Mr. Tanner.” Emma doesn’t even flinch from the question, looking at her teacher with a bored expression. Normal school classes have been boring to her, especially the History ones. Spending alone time in a vampire’s boarding house pushed her to study the subject like crazy, making her almost an expert. Mr. Tanner smiles at her response, then goes on with his next question.

“Alright. What about the attack on Pearl Harbor?” He notices Elena and Stefan talking in whispers again and he rolls his eyes at them. “Miss Gilbert?”

“Hm?” She turns around from her discussion, giving the teacher a huge smile.

“Pearl Harbor?” His question makes her blink a couple of times, not able to answer him.

“December 7th, 1941.” Mr. Tanner smiles at Stefan with sarcasm.

“Thank you, Miss _Gilbert_.” Everyone chuckles at the comment, Stefan smiling back.

“Anytime.”

“Very well.” Mr. Tanner looks around the class. “The fall of the Berlin wall?”

“1989.” Stefan’s voice gets the attention of the whole class again. “I’m... good with dates, sir.”

“Are you? How good?” Mr. Tanner loses his smile. “Keep it to the ear. I doubt you can reach your sister’s level, mister.”

Emma snorts at the comment, Stefan nodding at the teacher to tell him to start the challenge.

“Silver rights act?”

“1964.”

“John F. Kennedy assassination.”

“1963.”

Mr. Tanner squints his eyes, walking slowly towards the vampire. “Martin Luther King.”

“’68.”

“Lincoln.”

“1865.”

“Roe v. Wade.”

“1973.”

“Brown versus Board.”

“1954.”

“The battle of Gettysburg.”

Stefan takes a moment to think. “1863.”

“Korean war?”

“1950 to 1953.”

“Ha! It ended in ‘52!” Mr. Tanner smiles wildly, walking back to his board.

“Hum, actually, sir.” Emma talks before Stefan can, taking the attention now. “My brother’s right. It was ‘53.”

Mr. Tanner gives her a dark look before he turns to the rest of the class. “Look it up, somebody.” He waits for a few seconds, losing his patience. “Quickly!”

“It was nineteen...” A guy looks at his phone, giving his teacher a smirk. “... fifty-three.”

Everyone gasps in admiration, starting to applaud Stefan while Mr. Tanner gives away a defeated smile. That’s when the bell rings again, telling the end of the class.

“Alright, everyone. I want you all to give me your assignments before you leave!”

Emma opens her bag and looks through it to find her homework, everyone getting up from their seat and giving Mr. Tanner their assignment before they leave. The young girl frowns at her bag, fear rising in her chest as she continues to look through it. She ends up breathing in panic, the class now completely empty except for her and-

“Miss Salvatore?”

Emma looks up from her bag, her teacher signaling to come over. She does what he asks, slowly walking to the front of the class with a fearful look on her face.

“Yes, Mr. Tanner?”

“Where’s your assignment?” She gulps, tears coming at the corner of her eyes.

“I-I don’t know. I thought it was in my bag... but I think I left it at home.”

The teacher sighs, crossing his arms on his chest. “You know what this means, Miss Salvatore. I’m gonna have to give you a zero.”

“No, wait! I swear I did it! I spend all week on it! _Please_! Let me bring it to you tomorrow morning!”

The teacher looks at her for a long time, a strange glint visible in his eyes.

“You have to understand that this wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the class.”

“ _Please._ ” Emma sends him a desperate look. “Can’t you just take ten points off my homework for the trouble? I wouldn’t mind!”

“I’m just disappointed, Emma.” He puts his hands in his coat’s pocket, the girl noticing his use of her first name. “This isn’t like you.”

“W-what do you mean?” She frowns in confusion. “It’s the first time I’ve lost homework an-”

“It may be the first time, but it might be the beginning of you failing all of your classes.” He approaches her form slowly. “I heard Jeremy Gilbert’s your new boyfriend.”

“Y-yeah... so?”

“He’s a very bad influence on you, you know that?” He slightly touches her cheek with his fingers. “You’re gonna need private lessons to balance that out.”

She feels her breath get stuck, her brain screaming at her to run.

“That won’t be necessary, sir.”

He smiles. “I insist.”

“I insist even more.” She slowly walks back, trying to distance herself from him. “I have no intention of becoming a bad student, Mr. Tanner.”

“That’s good news.” He puts his hand back in his pocket, then gives her a hard look. “I’ll be waiting for your assignment tomorrow morning, Miss Salvatore.”

“ _Thank you_.”

She breathes in, holding her bag tighter as she leaves the classroom. She feels her body starting to shake while she walks, asking herself what the fuck just happened. Was that some kind of verbal and sexual harassment? Should she tell someone about this? She shakes her head. No, she must have got too far in her mind. No way that he wanted... but again...?

No. She can’t talk about it. She will never talk about.

So that’s why she walks straight into the girls’ bathroom, mumbling to herself to forget this moment forever with tears in her eyes.

* * *

“Now why are you sadly sitting on the bleachers?”

Stefan smiles at his niece arrival, the girl sitting down next to him. Emma notices that he was playing with his ring, looking at the Timberwolves playing on the field. She turns her head back at her uncle, giving him a smirk.

“I see now.” She nudges his side. “You wanna be a Timberwolf.”

Stefan chuckles, shaking his head. “Yeah, but I don’t think Mr. Tanner will let me in.”

Her stomach turns at the sound of her teacher’s name, Emma forcing herself to smile wider at Stefan to not show that something’s wrong.

“Just go ask him. You can’t know unless you try.”

He frowns in wonder, the man now giving Emma a small smile.

“You know what? You’re right. I’ll go ask him if I can try out.” He gets up from the bleachers, looking back at her as he walks away. “Elena and Bonnie are at Cheerleaders’ practice, by the way.”

“Thanks, I’ll go see them.”

She sends him a wave, waiting for him to go talk to Mr. Tanner before she gets down the bleachers. She notices the Cheerleaders stretching out not too far away from the field, the girl noticing her two friends among them. She runs straight towards them, stopping right beside them with a smile.

“There, there. If it isn’t Elena going back to her old self.” Bonnie chuckles while Elena jumps up, Emma sitting down on the grass right before her friend hits her shoulder. “Ow! What was that for?”

“You always scare me out of nowhere! It’s not cool!” Emma just laughs at her comment, shrugging it off like it’s nothing.

“Can’t help it, El’. It runs in the family.”

Elena smiles. “You and Stefan do have that in common, yeah.”

“Hey, Em’? Have you seen Caroline this morning?” The girls turn their attention to Bonnie. “She hasn’t answered any of my messages.”

“Hum... no. I haven’t.” Bonnie sighs in annoyance while Elena takes a sip of water from her bottle.

“Seriously, where is she?”

“I don’t know.” Elena shrugs, putting her water bottle down on the ground. “It’s not like her.”

“I’ll try to call her.”

Emma gets out her phone, starting to type her blond friend’s number when she hears loud music getting closer. She looks up at the same time as her friends, all the colors draining from her face when she sees her dad driving in a luxurious car with Caroline.

“Oh my god.” Bonnie comments as they park the car right beside the grass, Caroline and Damon now kissing. “That must be the mysterious guy from the grill.”

“That’s not a mystery guy.” Elena talks while Emma stares in silence. “It’s Damon Salvatore.”

“Salvatore?” The three girls get up, Bonnie turning her attention to Emma. “You got another brother?”

“I prefer not to talk about it.”

Caroline gets out of the car as soon as Emma finishes her sentence, the blond walking over with a huge smile and a scarf around her neck. Her smile turns to a smirk when she sees Elena.

“I got the other brother if you don’t mind.” Her attention turns to Emma and she gasps in surprise. “Oh, Em’! You wanna try out for the cheerleaders' team?”

“No thanks, just here to keep you guys company.” Emma crosses her arms on her chest, her blond friend slightly losing her smile.

“Oh... Okay, then.” The girl drops her things on the ground and looks at all the other cheerleaders. “Sorry I’m late, girls! I was... busy. Alright! Let’s start with a-”

Emma doesn’t listen to the rest of her friend’s sentence, the girl already walking over her dad’s car. She slightly leans in it, sending him a dark look while he simply gives her a smug and takes his sunglasses off.

“ **I need to talk to you.** ”

“Sorry Pumpkin, I’m busy today.” He puts his sunglasses back on, intense music being heard behind the girl. “We can talk when you get home, alright?”

And he instantly leaves her there with his car, assuming that she wanted to talk about his new unhealthy relationship with her blond friend. She clenches her fist in frustration, biting the inside of her cheek.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!” Emma turns around when she hears Caroline’s voice, seeing Elena having difficulties to keep up with the rest of the girls. “Elena, sweetie? Wanna just observe today? Okay?”

Elena sadly nods at Caroline and walks in the back, concentrating on the routine to try and learn it. Emma simply smiles at her to try and encourage her, thinking to herself that her blond friend is being a bit hard on her. That’s when they both notice Stefan running on the field with the football uniform, Elena smiling and slowly walking over to observe the boys’ training. Emma smirks at that, waiting a couple of minutes before she decides to join her.

“Watching my brother play, I see.” Elena’s not even scared by her friend’s presence and blushes instead, looking away in embarrassment. “Or should I say... your boyfriend?”

She gives away a small smile. “Thank you for not being freaked out by it.”

“Well, I’m dating your brother now, so we’re even.”

“Wait, what?” Elena gives her friend a surprised look. “He didn’t tell me that!”

“Really?” Emma quirks an eyebrow, smiling playfully. “Well, now you know.”

“That is _so_ weird.”

“And now you also know how I’ve been feeling for the past week.”

They both laugh together, the two girls about to continue their conversation when they hear a loud crash. They turn their attention back on the field to see Stefan on the ground, Tyler looking down at him with a wide smirk. Anger flashes into Emma’s eyes, Mr. Tanner talking before she can even ask her uncle how he is.

“You’re gonna live, Salvatore?” His voice makes her freeze, her whole body getting tense.

“ _Yeah!_ ”

“Walk it off, son!” Mr. Tanner eyes meet Emma’s ones, the man sending a wave to her that she tries to ignore.

“Why is Mr. Tanner waving at us?” Emma somehow successfully act like she doesn’t know, controlling her trembling body.

“Maybe he’s finally in a good mood.” Elena snorts.

“Yeah, _right_.” They notice the boys leaving the field to go where the changing rooms are. “I guess the practice is done.”

“I’ll go wait for Stefan at the car, then.” Emma smiles at the brown-haired girl. “See you tomorrow?”

Elena nods and waves at her friend’s leaving form, completely unaware of the storm of emotion inside Emma’s heart.

* * *

“ _Just breathe, Emma. Just breathe_.” The girl hugs herself while she’s sitting on her bed, trying her best to calm herself down with her own whispers. “You’re fine, okay? You’re perfectly fine. Everything is going to be fine. You’re fine. You’re fi-”

“ **Did something happened today?** ”

Emma screams in surprise, turning her head at the voice to see her dad’s face a couple of inches away from her. He’s looking at her with worried blue eyes, tilting his head at her reaction. She sighs in relief and hides her face with her hands, slowly calming the tremors in her body again.

“You’re scared the crap out of me.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.” He pinches the side of her cheek when she shows her face, slightly smiling. “Why are you reassuring yourself, Pumpkin?”

“No reason.” He gives her a long look, not believing her words. “I’m just stressed, okay? Geez. Why do you care anyway?”

“Hm... You’re right. Why would I care for my daughter?” She rolls her eyes at his ironic voice, the man shuffling her hair with a smile. “I’m here for you, Pumpkin. You can always talk to me about anything.”

“No thank you.” She pushes his hand away from her head, replacing her hair with a groan. “Don’t you have a date with Caroline right now?”

“Oh, that’s right.” He looks at his empty wrist, walking back slowly with a smirk. “I should leave now or I’m gonna be late. You should too.”

Emma quirks an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Don’t you have a date with this Jeremy guy?”

“Can you not spy on me?” Emma shakes her head in annoyance, Damon simply leaving the room with his usual smirk. “Dad, stop spying on me!”

That’s when she receives a text from Jeremy.

_Still on for dinner at the Grill?_

A smile comes on her face when she reads it, but she waits a little before answering him. Should she really go out after what happened today? Shouldn’t she stay at home and take care of herself?

Maybe a little date can make her forget about her awful day.

_See you there in fifteen minutes._

* * *

“Alright.” Jeremy points at Emma with a smirk, the girl quirking back an eyebrow. “If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?”

“I don’t know... probably fries.” She looks at the one between her fingers. “... yeah, I love fries too much to stop eating them.”

Jeremy shakes his head. “Of course you do. You’re always eating them. Even in your sleep.”

“Don’t judge me!” She throws a fry at his face, the boy laughing. “Alright, mister. If you won the lottery tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’d buy?”

“Hm... good question...” He squints his eyes, taking a sip from his drink. “A car.”

Emma snorts. “You don’t even have a license!”

“Doesn’t stop me from having a car!” The girl just shakes her head at him, Jeremy smiling at her. That’s when Emma’s phone starts beeping, both of them turning their attention to the device.

“Oh, sorry.” She’s about to put it in her bag when he stops her.

“No, it’s fine, you can answer. I need to go to the bathroom anyway.” He gets up from his seat and walks away. “Don’t eat all the fries while I’m gone!”

“You wish!” She instantly put one fry in her mouth, savoring it while she opens her phone to read Bonnie’s text.

‘ _I thought your uncle Zach adopted you?’_

She quirks an eyebrow before she answers. ‘ _I am adopted. Why?’_

‘ _Damon said you guys lost your parents.’_ Emma’s eyes go wide.

‘ _Well, I was adopted after their death, but wait, Damon’s at Elena’s place!?’_

It’s not long before she gets an answer.

‘ _Yeah, he came over with Caroline._ ’ There’s a small amount of time before the brown girl type something else. ‘ _Anyway, it’s not important anymore. I’ll text you later._ ’

Emma sighs, rubbing her eyes with her free hand. What is her dad thinking, seriously?

“Tough night?” She turns her head to see Math smiling at her, holding a cue stick.

“Nah, just one of my brothers being a dick somewhere.” Matt frowns, having only met Stefan for now. “His name is Damon, you haven’t met him yet.”

“Ah, I see.” His smile comes back. “So? What do you think of Jer’?”

Emma chuckles, feeling her neck getting warm. “He’s very sweet. I like him a lot.”

“That’s great. I’m glad you found each other.” Matt turns his head behind him to observe his jock friend, Emma noticing the twitching anger in his face. “Can’t say Ty’ has been easy to deal with, though.”

“He’ll get over it.” The girl shrugs, not caring about her ex’s feelings anymore.

“I don’t know.” Emma quirks an eyebrow at her friend’s comment. “I think he’s just realizing that you were perfect and that he liked you a lot.”

“Well, too bad.” She pops another fry in her mouth. “I’ve already moved on.”

“Yeah, we can see that.” Matt smiles sadly. “I know he has been a jerk and all, but-”

“ _Alright, I get it._ ” Both teenagers turn around to see Jeremy and Tyler looking at each other like animals, the younger boy being the one that talk. “Hit me to impress Emma, that’s... that’s _real_ nice.”

“I don’t need to impress her.” Tyler looks back at the brown-haired girl, slightly smirking. “I already know she still likes me.”

Jeremy pushes Tyler away from him, Matt and Emma walking over instantly.

“ **Well, now you’re dead.** ”

“Am I?” Jeremy tilts his head. “Cause it seems like I’m standing here waiting for you to man up.”

“Ty’! Don’t!”

“Guys, stop!”

Emma runs and gets between the twos boys, Matt instantly stopping Tyler from jumping on the boy by grabbing him and pulling him away. Tyler points at Jeremy, his eyes screaming the word “murder”.

“Next time I see you, Gilbert.”

“No.” Jeremy’s bottom lip twitches. “Next time I see _you._ ”

“Okay, Jay’, stop.”

Emma pulls him away from the scene and right back to their table while Matt takes care of Tyler, the girl now giving her boyfriend a long look.

“Okay, what was that?”

“That guy keeps messing with me!”

“Then stop letting him get to you!” Jeremy gives her a surprised look. “The more you give him attention, the worse it’s gonna get! Don’t you get it?”

“Oh yeah, I _get_ it.” He squints his eyes at her. “You still like him, don’t you?”

The accusation hits her in the heart, the girl now giving him a hurtful look.

“Oh my go- I like _you_ , Jay’.”

“Do you? Do you really?”

Emma exhales a sharp breath, a hurtful smile coming to her lips as she crosses her arms.

“Well, if you don’t trust me, it doesn’t matter, does it?”

“I guess it doesn’t.” He takes his bag on the floor and gives her a mean look. “See ya, Em’.”

She doesn’t have the strength to stop him from leaving, her heart shattering with the sound of his steps.

* * *

“Please answer. _Please_ answer.”

It’s been twenty minutes since Jeremy left their now disastrous date, Emma waiting outside the Mystic Grill. She’s trying to reach her friend Elena to know if the boy has come home safe, the girl also just wanting to go home and cry in her bed.

“ _.. hello?_ ”

“Hey, El’.” Emma hugs herself with one arm, a shaky smile coming to her lips. “How was dinner?”

“ _Oh, it was great for the most part. Damon and Caroline kind of ruined it in the end, but I think Stefan and Bonnie will get along now.”_

“Good, good.” Emma looks around the town, her heart beating fast. “Hey, listen... has Jeremy come home yet?”

“ _Yeah, he just got in a few minutes ago._ ” Emma sighs in relief, some tension getting away. “ _By the way, what happened tonight? He seemed really pissed._ ”

“We... got in a fight.” She hears her friend gasp. “Tyler provoked him and kinda got into his head and... well... it escalated quickly...”

“ _Oh, Em’, I’m sorry.”_ Emma breathes in, stopping her tears from getting out. “ _Are you okay?_ ”

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just... I just wished things ended differently.”

“ _I can talk to him if you want.”_

“No, don’t. That might make things worse.” The girl puts her hand in her pocket, trying to warm it up. “I’ll just wait for him to calm down and talk things over.”

“ _That’s great. Hey, are you still at Mystic Grill? Bonnie’s not gone yet, I can ask her to give you a ride._ ”

“No, it’s fine. I got the car my uncle gave me.” Emma smiles, happy to have such great friends. “See you at the match tomorrow?”

“ _Of course! Can’t wait to see Stefan play._ ”

Emma chuckles. “Alright. See ya.”

She ends the call, then starts to type an apology text to Jeremy.

‘ _Hey, I know you’re angry at me right now and I understand completely. Tyler was being a huge jerk and I wasn’t really acting like I was on your side. But you have to believe me when I say that I really like you. You’re the first person to make me happy for a long time and I can’t thank you enough for that. Really, I don’t know why I didn’t go to you sooner, I must have been too blind, haha. Anyway, I hope you have a good night sleep and, if you want... maybe we can sort things out tomorrow at the game?”_

She sends it before she can regret it, waiting for his reply. Did he get it? Is he going to answer-

“Hello there, miss Emma.” The girl jumps up at the voice, turning around to see the man who called for her. “Quite the drama you got inside.”

“Mister Tanner.” She feels her throat shrink. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“Of course, you didn’t. You had a... date, right?” He walks closer to her, a strange smile on his lips. “And please, call me William. We’re not at school right now, are we?”

“Hum, I...” She takes a step back, anxiety kicking in. “I’m not comfortable with that, sir.”

“Ah, too fast? Sure, I understand.” He puts his hands in his coat, the man tilting his head. “I’m guessing you still don’t have that assignment, do you?”

“Hum, no... I didn’t know you’d be he-”

“A shame, really.” He licks his lips, a glint passing in his eyes. “I don’t know if I can wait for tomorrow, _Emma._ ”

“W-what? But you said-”

“I know what I said, but I changed my mind.” She hardly gulps when she feels a wall hit her back, the man now getting dangerously close. “Extra work from you would be much better.”

“Mister Tanner, you’re scaring m-”

“ _Shhh..._ ” He puts his finger on her lips, the girl wanting to cry. “Just relax. You’ll enjoy it.”

“N-” She doesn’t have time to finish that he grabs her lips with his, forcefully entering his tongue into her mouth. She feels his hands get on her hips, Emma’s brain screaming in agony. What should she do? She’s trapped between him and the wall and no one’s outside right now. Could she..?

An idea pops in her head and she just goes for it. She bites his tongue, the man letting go of her in pain and she pushes him out of the way, running now towards the direction of her car.

“ _Emma Salvatore! Get back here this instant!_ ”

She ignores him, getting out her car keys and pushing the button to unlock her door. She hears him running over to her and she opens her door, throwing herself inside and locking everything right after. She struggles to start her car, a loud hit on her window making her scream in fear.

“ _Emma, open the door.”_

She tries her best to ignore Mister Tanner’s face right beside her, the man trying to open her door. She feels her heartbeat get faster as she hears the car turn on and her teacher threatening to destroy her if she talks to anyone about this.

“Leave me alone!”

She drives away as fast as she can, her mind completely forgetting about the speed limits and the risk of dying. She just drives and drives, tears falling down her face while her body keeps jumping up from the panic jolts she’s getting. She lets out pleading sounds, begging some god to tell her that _this_ didn’t really happen. That all of this is just some kind of horrible nightmare that she’s gonna wake up from. That she’ll walk around the boarding house in an instant, finding someone that would comfort her without asking any question.

But sadly, this isn’t a nightmare.

And Emma wishes she couldn’t feel anything anymore.

* * *

She somehow arrived home safe, the engine still running while the car stays in place. Emma stares at her hands on the wheel, her breathing still hard, her throat still feeling small and tears still falling down her cheeks. Her body’s still trembling too, but at least she doesn’t have those jolting pain going through her like electricity. She stops the engine, trying her best to calm her breathing.

She opens the door, slowly getting out. She looks up at the windows, noticing that all the lights are gone. Is Stefan already asleep? What about her dad? Is he home?

She walks inside the boarding house, noticing that her uncle had left it open for her. Slowly, she walks up the stairs, finally arriving inside her room after a couple of minutes. She lets her bag fall down on the ground, Emma taking a few steps further into the room until she feels her breathing get heavier. She tries to calm it down, but to no avail. That’s when her breathing stops completely, then comes back, then goes again.

She’s having the biggest panic attack she’s ever had.

“ _D-dad..._ ” Her voice is hoarse by her extreme emotions, the girl opening her voice wider to call out for help. “ _Dad...!_ ”

The dark vampire immediately appears before her, his worried expression turning to a worse one when he sees her state.

“Pumpkin, what-” He gets cut off by his girl giving him a suffocating hug, Emma clutching unto him like a lost puppy. He puts his arms back around her, his heart sinking when he hears her sobs and feels her trembles. “Pumpkin, what happened to you? Did that Jeremy guy hurt you? Cause I’m gonna kill-”

“N-no, it’s not h-him...” She hugs him closer, hiccups going through her cry. “D-dad. S-something _r-really_ b-bad ha-happened...”

He suddenly fears the worst, a million scenarios coming through his mind.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“M-my teacher, he..” He hears her breathe in with difficulties, a few cries getting out before she finally manages to talk. “ _He_ _t-touched me...”_

Extreme hatred goes through his heart, a huge sentiment of avenging his daughter taking control of his mind.

“ _ **What’s his name?**_ ”

“M-mister Tanner...”

“ **I’ll go kill him.** ”

“ _No!_ ” She tightens her grip on him, stopping him in his actions. “ _D-don’t leave me, please._ ”

“I’m not leaving you, Pumpkin.” He calms down at her pleads, kissing the top of her head and stroking her back instead of going into a murder spree. “I’m right here.”

He feels her trembles ease down, the vampire now telling her reassuring things to help her take control of her breathing. Her cries eventually quiet down, Emma now just closing her eyes tiredly while enjoying her dad’s embrace.

“You feel better?”

“Yeah...” She gets her head away and he wipes away the leaving tears on her face. “Thank you.”

“I’m always here for you, Pumpkin. You know that.” She sadly smiles at him and he gives it back. “Want me to protect you while you sleep? Just like when you were six?”

She slowly nods, her eyes already shutting from the exhaustion. Damon helps her get inside her blankets, despite the girl still wearing her daily clothes. She almost instantly falls asleep, her dad sitting down on a chair right beside her bed to watch over her. He clenches his fists, the thought of her being assaulted by such a disgusting m-

If that teacher crosses his way tomorrow, there’s gonna be one more corpse in Mystic Falls.

* * *

The next day, her dad woke up Emma to tell her that he needed to go somewhere (something about Caroline going to be pissed if he doesn’t show up at that stupid match thing), but he also told her that she had to call him immediately if she needed anything. She smiled at the gesture, happy to actually have her father back. He also took care of talking to Stefan for her, telling him that she was feeling sick and couldn’t come to the match with him. The younger vampire didn’t quite bite it since he was sensing something else, but he let it go and wished for her to get better soon.

And that’s how Emma got to spend her whole day alone in the boarding house, avoiding any social interactions by watching TV series in her room with too many blankets on her body. She ignored her phone that beeped a couple of times, her friends eventually having stopped trying to go enjoy their day. She loves them deeply, but she’s feeling too attacked to be able to talk to them normally.

She managed to finish a whole season of some teen drama when the sun finally goes down, the giant bonfire ceremony at her school has probably started already. She looks at her phone one more time to see that she still has no messages from Jeremy. He probably didn’t even read her text, the boy being too pissed. She sighs, falling down on her bed and closing her eyes to enjoy the coziness she made for herself. Maybe a few minutes of sleep won’t be so b-

That’s when her phone rings. She groans, looking at it to see that it’s Elena calling for the tenth time. She decides to answer, maybe this time they will leave her alone.

“... Hello?”

“ _Emma! I heard you were sick, are you okay?!_ ”

Emma smiles at the concerning sound. “I’m fine, El’. You don’t have to worry about me. How’s the ceremony right now?”

“ _Oh, quite intense. Mr. Tanner’s making a speech right now._ ” She feels her stomach turn at the sound of his name. “ _Anyway, you sure you’re fine? I can come over if you really need someone._ ”

“No, it’s okay. Just tell me how my brother will crush the other team and I’ll be perfectly happy.” She hears her friend laugh, some people beside her shushing her. “How’s... Jeremy?”

“ _Still pissed. I tried to talk to him, but he said it wasn’t any of my business._ ” Elena sighs in annoyance. “ _I swear, sometimes he can be very stupid._ ”

“We all are, you know?”

“ _Yeah, I guess you're- holy shit!”_ Emma feels her heart drop at her friend’s scream. “ _El’, I have to go right now, I’m calling you later!_ ”

“Wait, El-” She doesn’t have time to finish that Elena ends the conversation. And Emma can’t do anything beside hoping that everything will be alright.

* * *

Five minutes before the end of your conversation with Elena, Tyler got out of the gigantic crowd of teenagers, spotting Jeremy sitting on a car, drinking a beer and staring at him.

“Is that Jeremy?”

Vicky, who just greeted him, turns around to see Elena’s little brother. She panics when she sees her supposed boyfriend starting to walk menacingly towards the boy. She tries to stop him, but to no success. Jeremy sighs, then he puts down his beer and stands up as the jock arrives right in front of him.

“Don’t look so down.” He tilts his head, his smirk stretching out. “I told you you’d be Emma’s rebound guy, right-”

Jeremy hits Tyler in the face. The jock instantly grabs the boy and shoves him unto the car, breaking a couple of beers that fall in the grass. Vicky screams at her boyfriend to stop, but the guy doesn’t listen and instead throws Jeremy on the ground with his force. He then continues to hit him on the ground, Jeremy managing to throw back some hits but without success. Most of the teenagers on the field turn their attention to the fight, Stefan soon arriving with them.

“Hey, enough! He’s down!” He grabs Tyler’s arm, the jock standing up and hitting the vampire right in the guts. Confusion spread around the guy’s face when Stefan doesn’t even flinch from the hit, only giving him a long look.

“Jeremy, no!”

Stefan pushes Tyler out of the way when he hears Elena’s voice, his hand getting cut by the glass Jeremy was about to hit the other jock with. Blood spreads out, the drunk boy’s expression changing to a panic one. Matt stops Tyler from jumping back into a fight, Elena taking her brother away to talk to him. She’s about to reprimand him when he just runs away, the girl sighing in annoyance and turning her attention back to her boyfriend.

“Oh my god, your hand.”

“No, no, it’s-” Stefan hides his hand behind his back, smiling. “-it’s fine.”

“Is it deep? How bad is it? God...”

She grabs his hand and forces him to open it so she can see the cut, only to see that there’s nothing. She frowns and shakes her head, not believing what she’s seeing.

“B-but... I saw...”

“He missed. It’s not my blood. See?” Stefan wipes off the remaining blood on his hand then shows it back to Elena. “I’m fine.”

“No, no, no, I saw it. The glass cut your hand, it was-”

“It’s okay. I’m okay.” Elena reluctantly nods, giving in to Stefan’s words. “It’s almost kickoff time. So, hum... I’ll, huh... I’ll see you after the game.”

He leaves once she nods another time, the girl giving him a long worried look.

* * *

Emma’s phone ringing for a second time pushes her to answer without even looking.

“Yes, hello?”

“... _Hey...._ ” Jeremy’s voice makes her heart stops, tears coming into her eyes. “ _I-I... sorry I’m just calling now, I just read your message...._ ”

“You’re calling, that’s all that matters.” She hears him gulp in difficultly. “Jay’, are you okay?”

“ _... I am now._ ” She feels the tension leave her shoulders, the girl falling down on her bed. “ _You really like me?_ ”

“So fucking much.” He chuckles and she smiles at the sound. “Can’t even question it.”

“ _I like you too._ ” Her smile stretches out, her chest feeling warm. “ _Hey... did you.... did you come to the match?_ ”

“No, I... I didn’t.” She feels his disappointment without hearing him say anything. “I’ve been sick all day, watching TV shows and stuff like that.”

“ _Wait, you’re sick? That’s it, I’m coming over._ ”

“Jay’, it’s fine.” She shakes her head, holding back a chuckle. “I don’t want you to get sick. Besides, you’re drunk, aren’t you? Might not be safe to come to see me right now.”

“... _yeah, you’re right._ ”

A sound comes out of her device, telling her that someone’s else is trying to reach her.

“Hey, Jay’? I think Elena’s trying to call me, so I’m gonna answer. But... do you think we can see each other tomorrow?”

“ _Yeah, no problem. I’ll text you tomorrow._ ”

“Alright. Good match!” She hangs up and takes the other. “What’s up, El’?”

“ _Your brother is absolutely disgusting! He just tried to kiss me!_ ”

Emma frowns. “Wait, are you talking about Damon?”

“ _Of course I’m talking about Damon! I don’t know what’s his problem with Stefan, but I am_ _ **not**_ _a backstabbing bitch! Seriously, what gives him the right to-_ ”

The brown-haired girl tries her best to calm down her friend, also mentally judging her dad for what he tried to pull off.

* * *

Damon applauds his brother as soon as Matt leaves him, the younger vampire turning around to give him a confused look.

“Ain’t that nice? Stefan joins the team and makes some friends.” He crosses his arms over his chest, staying in the shadows while he chuckles. “It’s also, rah! Rah! Go team! Yeah!”

“Not tonight. I’m done with you.” Stefan turns around, slightly jumping when he sees Damon standing right in front of him with a smirk.

“Nice trick with Elena. Let me guess... vervain in the necklace.” The dark vampire shakes his head when Stefan looks away from him. “I admit, I was a bit surprised. It’s been a while since anyone could resist my... compulsion. Where did you get it?”

“Does it matter?” Stefan walks away.

“Guess I could just seduce her the old fashion way. _Or_ I could just... eat her.”

Damon’s choice of words makes Stefan stops in his track, the younger vampire turning back to him with a quirked eyebrow.

“No.” Damon gives his brother a look, Stefan walking back slowly. “You’re not gonna hurt her, Damon.”

“No?”

“Because deep down inside-” Stefan looks right into his brother’s eyes, the vampire being sure of himself. “-there’s a part of you that _feels_ for her.”

Damon frowns in confusion but lets his brother talk.

“I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you, that you might have actually become the monster that you pretend to be-”

“Who’s pretending?”

Stefan smiles. “Then kill me.”

“Well, I’m...” Damon moves his head a little. “I’m tempted.”

“No. You’re not.” Stefan shakes his head. “You’ve had lifetimes to do it and yet, here I am. I’m still alive and there you are... still hunting me. After 164 years.”

The dark vampire still smirks, silently mocking his little brother’s comment.

“Katherine is dead!” Damon loses his smile. “And you hate me because you loved her! And you torture me... because you still do. And that, my brother, is one reason why you still have your humanity.”

Damon snorts. “One reason?”

“Yes, remember Emma?” Stefan points at Damon, the dark vampire losing his smile another time. “Almost seventeen years ago, you went into that house and saved her when she was just a baby. You adopted her and took care of her all those years, Damon. She told me you called her every week to be sure that she was fine. You even took care of her last night when she got sick. Now, would a cruel vampire do that?”

“Salvatore!” Both brothers turn their attention back to the coach walking over. “What the heck, we got a game to play!”

“Yes, I’m coming, Mr. Tanner.”

That name.

It’s _him._

Damon clenches his jaw, anger rising inside of him.

“If that’s my humanity...” The younger vampire turns his attention back to his brother, who slightly smirks at him. “... then what’s this?”

Stefan doesn’t even have time to react that Damon’s already jumping on the teacher, his teeth destroying the human’s throat with a thirst filled with hatred. When he’s finally done, he lets go of Mr. Tanner’s dead body, turning back to his shocked brother with red eyes and blood coming out of his mouth.

“Anyone...” He tilts his head with a smirk. “Any time...” He licks the blood on his lips. “Any place...”

Stefan doesn’t have the strength to respond.

* * *

A million texts suddenly blow up Emma’s phone, a lot of them coming from Caroline and Bonnie. She notices a few from Jeremy and Matt, even one from Tyler, but she doesn’t have time to even look from them that Elena’s calling her again.

“Hello?”

“ _Emma, it’s horrible!_ ”

She frowns, hearing her friend’s desperate voice. “What happened, El’?”

“ _It’s Mister Tanner! An animal attacked him right here! He’s dead!_ ”

She feels a rush of wind past her, the girl looking up from her sheets to see her dad standing a few feet from her.

“ _Emma? Did you hear me? He’s dead!_ ”

“I heard you, El’.” Her voice is lacking any emotion. “I need to go.”

“ _Wait-”_ Emma ends the conversation, looking back at her dead in silence.

“Hey there, Pumpkin.” He walks closer to her with a small smile, putting his hands around her head. “How’s your day been? You’re feeling better?”

“You killed him, right?”

He loses his smile, then sighs when he sees that she’s not gonna let it go.

“Yes, I did kill him. But you have to know that it was for y-” He gets cut off by her arms wrapping around him, the girl hiding her face in his neck like she used to do so many years ago.

“ _Thank you._ ” Her grip tightens, tears coming out of her eyes. “Thank you, thank you, thank you-”

“You don’t need to thank me, Pumpkin.” He hugs her back, kissing the top of her head. “I’m just doing my job as a father.”

She just stays in his arms, slightly trembling. She knows that what he did was bad, _very bad_... but she can’t help feeling such relief to know that the man is dead.

“... I love you, dad.”

Her words surprise him, the vampire then smiling and hugging her closer.

“Love you too, Pumpkin.”

And that was it for the night.


	4. Season 1, Episode 4: Family Ties

**Season 1, Episode 4: Family Ties**

“Hello there, Pumpkin.” Damon enters the kitchen where Emma’s eating cereal, the girl still wearing her pajamas and watching something on her phone. “Had a good night sleep?”

“Where did you find the lion?” Her question makes him smile, the vampire sitting down in front of her.

“Aaaah. You’ve seen the news.” He chuckles. “I just went to the nearest town, robbed their zoo and put the lion here. Easy.”

“Doesn’t sound easy, dad.”

He pinches her left cheek. “It isn’t for a little human like you.”

“Dad!” She pushes his hand away while he laughs, rubbing her cheek. “Stop treating me like a baby! I’m seventeen!”

“Sadly, I know. You grow up too fast, Pumpkin.”

She notices the blood on his shirt.

“Why are you bloody?”

“Stefan went a little crazy this morning.” He rolls his eyes in annoyance. “I mean, look at me! He ruined my shirt!”

“ _Awn_... that is _so_ sad.”

“Honey, I’m really proud that you use sarcasm just like I do, but don’t use that on me again.”

It’s her turn to roll her eyes. “Yeah, _sure._ ”

He smiles, shaking his head at her while she finishes her cereal.

“So...” He takes back her attention. “What are you doing this weekend?”

She quirks an eyebrow. “... why are you asking me that?”

“Well, I heard there was The Founder’s Ball tomorrow night...” He wiggles his eyebrows. “Are you going with this Jeremy guy?”

“Dad, you know that Salvatores haven’t been invited in years.”

“But you can still go with someone who _is_ invited.” He flicks her forehead, making her frown. “So, are you going?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugs and continues to eat her cereal. “I’m not really interested. Besides, I don’t think Jeremy wants to go.”

“Awn, come on!” Damon pouts. “Stefan will probably go with Elena, and I’m pretty sure I can convince Caroline to invite me-”

“You mean you’ll force her to invite you.” She points at him with her spoon.

“Details, details.” He dismisses her point with a small movement of his hand, the brown-haired girl letting his bad actions pass for now. “Just ask him, will you?”

“Ugh, fine.” She stands up with her empty bowl, going over to the sink to rinse it. “I’ll ask him at lunch.”

“Ooooh, you’re gonna have lunch with him?”

“Bye, dad.”

He gasps dramatically when she leaves him in the kitchen, the girl not wanting to talk with him about her relationship. He chuckles after she disappears, taking a moment to observe his surroundings.

Guess he’ll go see his human girlfriend now.

* * *

Caroline looks at herself in the mirror, a proud smile coming to her lips when she sees how good the yellow dress looks on her. She turns to Damon with that same smile and waits for his opinion, the vampire reading a Twilight’s book on her bed in boredom.

“No yellow. Childish. Go for the blue.”

Caroline frowns, looking back at the mirror with a pout. “I don’t like the blue.”

“Well, I do. And if I’m gonna be your date-”

“You _cannot_ be my date.” Caroline shakes her head, then sighs. “My mother is going to be there and she’s a very proud gun owner.”

“I went to a _lot_ of trouble to make sure this party wasn't canceled. It’s _very_ important that I’ll be there.”

The blond turns back to him with a teasing expression, showing that it doesn’t matter to her what he did. He takes his eyes away from the book to compel her.

“Please take me.”

There’s a long moment where the blond seems to be in a trance, then a light comes to her eyes.

“You should come to the Founder’s party with me!”

“Not if you’re wearing that dress.” Damon smirks then returns to his book while Caroline goes put the blue dress on. “What’s so special about this Bella girl? Edward’s so whipped!”

Caroline snort. “You gotta read the first book first. It won’t make sense if you don’t.”

She walks back out of her closet, going to stand in front of her mirror again as the vampire sighs.

“I miss the Anne Rice. She was so on it.”

“How come you don’t sparkle?” Damon rolls his eyes.

“Because I live in the real world where vampires burn in the sun.”

Caroline frowns in confusion. “Yeah, but you go in the sun.”

The vampire shows his left hand, an argent and blue ring on his finger.

“I have a ring. It protects me. Long story.”

The blond notices a bite mark on her back and she touches it, worry coming over her eyes.

“Will these bites turn me into a vampire?”

Damon looks at her in surprise, not expecting her to ask an important question. Feeling like he’s in a good mood, he decides to give her an explanation, and so he closes the book and puts it on his lap.

“It’s more complicated than that.” Caroline turns around to listen to him. “You’d have to feed on my blood, die, then feed on human- it’s a whole other deal. This book, by the way-” He takes the book back in his hand, then throws it across the room. “Has it all wrong.”

“Is Emma a vampire?”

Damon snorts and looks at the blond like she’s stupid.

“No, she’s not.” He tilts his head, a glint in his eyes. “Not yet, at least.”

“Okay, but... if you and Stefan have been vampires for over a century... how can Emma be your sister?”

“The answer to that is very simple, sweetheart. Emma is not my sister, but my adopted daughter.” He sighs at her confused expression, the girl slowly walking over to him. “I saved her when she was a baby, then she would only stop crying when she was in my arms, so I adopted her and... well, it’s another pretty long and boring story.”

“Does she knows you’re a vampire?”

“Of course she does.” He rolls his eyes at her. “Now, how about you stop asking stupid questions?”

He grabs her and makes her fall on the bed, the blond laughing as he kisses her face.

* * *

When Emma walks into Mystic Grill for her lunch date with Jeremy, she notices Tyler finishing his own lunch with his parents. She loses her smile at the sight, averting her eyes as she passes by.

“Emma! What a surprise!” Emma mentally cringes at Mrs. Lockwood’s voice, turning to them with a fake smile. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen you, how are you?”

“I’m great, Mrs. Lockwood. Thank you for asking.” The teenager takes a step back. “Now if you’ll excuse-”

“How about you sit down with us for a couple of minutes?” Mr. Lockwood gives you a smile, showing off a place beside Tyler who shifts uncomfortably.

“Oh, um...” Emma shares a look with Tyler, both of them not knowing how to break the news. “I-”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea, dad.”

“Why is that-” The mayor locks eyes with his son, the boy silently telling him to let it go. “Oh.”

“I’ll just...” Emma points to the direction she was heading, feeling quite awkward by the situation. “Anyway, I hope you have a nice day.”

She walks away from them rather fast, wanting to leave the situation immediately. That’s when she spots Jeremy sitting at the bar, a smile coming to her lips.

“Hey, you.” She kisses his lips when he turns his face to her, the brown-haired girl sitting down beside him right after. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.”

He smiles sweetly as he takes her hand in his, both of them intertwining their fingers together. She notices the plate of fries in front of him, her eyes lightening up, and he just rolls his eyes.

“Yes, you can take some.”

“Thank you~” She instantly pops a french fry in her mouth, almost moaning in pleasure. “God, this is good.”

“Everything’s good here?” Emma looks up to see Vicky smiling her, the girl nodding positively at the question. “Alright, just call me if you want anything else.”

She then leaves with a water pitcher, probably going for a tour around the tables. Jeremy looks back at his girlfriend, and she notices his tired eyes.

“Hey, are you okay? You seem tired.”

“Yeah, I’m... I’m fine.” He sighs, frustration coming into his eyes. “I just hate that Elena’s giving away our parents’ things to the Lockwoods.”

Emma frowns in confusion. “I thought it was just a loan?”

“It is, but... loan, giving it away... isn’t it all the same thing?”

“Well, technically speaking, no.” Jeremy rolls his eyes at her answer, and Emma gets closer to him. “But I understand how you’re feeling.”

“Yeah, well... you’re the only one who does.” He cracks a small smile, stealing a kiss from her which makes her giggle. “Elena wants to know if you want to come to the Founder’s Party.”

She grins, shaking her head. “Salvatores are never invited.”

“Hm, that’s true, but-” He grins back. “That’s not my question.”

Emma loses her smile and sighs. “It doesn’t matter if I’m not invited.” She steals a couple of his fries, eating them. “Besides, I thought you didn’t want to go?”

“Oh, I don’t. But I heard Bonnie didn’t have a plus one.” He takes back a french fry from her hand, ignoring her pout. “So if you _really_ want to go, I wouldn’t mind that you give her some company.”

Emma quirks an eyebrow. “You’re sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” He shrugs, showing that he doesn’t really care. “As long as you come to see me after, I don’t mind.”

The brown-haired girl smiles teasingly. “I’ll have to make myself gorgeous then if I’m going to see you after.”

“You’re already gorgeous.” Emma’s cheeks warm-up, the boy taking advantage of the situation to kiss her again. “Buuut.... I wouldn’t mind an extra beauty.”

She snorts and hits his shoulder, Jeremy gasping dramatically at her action.

“You’re mean.” The boy quirks an eyebrow, still smiling.

“How am I mean? I said you were gorgeous.”

“You’re mean cause you always make me blush, and I hate it.” She takes his plate of fries and moves it in front of her. “As a payment, you’re now giving me all your fries.”

He chuckles at her answer and takes her hand back in his, kissing the knuckles.

“Well, I’ll keep being mean then, cause I love seeing you blush.”

“And you will now buy me a milkshake.”

He can’t help but laugh out loud at that.

* * *

Zach walks out of his office and passes by the living room, stopping in his tracks when he sees Damon sitting in one of the couches and reading some papers.

“I didn’t know you were here.”

The vampire doesn’t even bat an eye.

“Just going through Stefan’s homework.” Zach stays silence, not knowing what to say. “Well, this country sure has dumb down in the last hundred years. Why he wants to go to highschool is beyond me. I mean in the seventies when he went to Ivy League Harvard I understood.”

He takes a small pause, thinking.

“Actually no, I didn’t get that either.” Damon turns the pages, Zach still not saying anything. “Go ahead, purge. Get it out. What’s on your mind?”

Zach takes a breath. “Why are you here, Damon?”

The vampire stops reading the homework, looking back at the human Salvatore in thought.

“To spend time with you, Zach.” He closes the homework and let it fall on the couch beside him. “And also Emma. Family’s important.”

“I know you. You always have a motive.” Damon leans his head back on the couch, bored. “So tell me, what is it this time?”

The man suddenly starts to choke, Damon’s hand clenching his throat in anger.

“You’re in no position to question me.”

Zach struggles to talk. “I... I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Damon slightly laughs, his smile staying on his face.

“This is not upset, Zach.”

“What’s going on?” Damon frees the man when Stefan walks in, the younger vampire giving his brother a shocked look as Zach tries to take his breath back.

“Having a family moment, Stefan.” The dark vampire taps the human’s back. “Spending some quality time.”

That’s when they all hear the entrance door open and close, Emma running in with a stressed face and red cheeks.

“I need a dress.” She takes a moment to take back her breathing, the girl frowning at the scene before her. “What the hell happened?”

“What’s important here, Pumpkin, is....” Damon walks over to his daughter with a grin. “... why do you need a dress?”

“I’m going to the Founder’s Party.” The vampire’s smile stretches out, the girl rolling her eyes. “With Bonnie, not Jay’. Stop smiling... Zach, are yo-”

She doesn’t have time to answer that Damon puts her on his shoulder, the teenager screaming in surprise.

“What- Dad!”

“Let’s go get you a dress then.”

“Dad, put me down!”

Next thing she knows, they’re in her room, Damon gently throwing her on her bed before he opens her closet to search for a dress. Emma instantly sits up with a pout, puffy cheeks and her hair all messed up, sending her dad a mean look.

“I could have walked, you know.” She hears him snickers as he looks through her clothes. “And I can also find a dress alone.”

“Nope, you can’t. I need to be sure that your outfit will be appropriate.”

She quirks an eyebrow when he keeps throwing her dresses unto the ground while saying “no”, most of them looking fine to her.

“You mean you don’t want me to look attractive for any kind of boy, don’t you?”

The vampire sighs, looking back at his daughter with a dramatic face.

“All these dresses are too provocative! Don’t you have something that covers your arms and doesn’t show any cleavage?”

“You mean like the dresses I wore when I was seven?”

“Exactly!” He points at her, a proud grin settling on his cheek. “That’s a great idea, Pumpkin. You’re gonna wear a dress just like that, will you?”

“Okay, that’s it.” She stands up and takes his arm, dragging him towards her door. “You need to get out.”

“What?” He sends her a shocked expression, the vampire still using a teasing voice. “I’m just trying to help you, Pumpkin.”

She pushes him out, taking the door in her hand as she looks back at him.

“I’ll wear the dress that I want, the makeup that I want, and the hairstyle that I want. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some important choices to make.”

And she closes the door to his face, Damon rolling his eyes with a smug.

* * *

“ _Soooo...._ ” Emma finishes putting lipstick on, waiting for Bonnie to continue talking. “ _You and Stefan will arrive at Elena’s in thirty minutes, then we’ll all go together. Does that sound good?_ ”

“Yep.” The brown-haired girl takes her phone when she finishes her makeup and puts it off speaker mode. “Are you guys almost ready?”

“ _Yeah, almost. Elena just needs to finish her hair and my nails are almost dry._ ”

Emma snorts, looking at her clean and naked nails. “You guys put nail polish?”

“ _Hey, just because you never put color on your fingers mean you can tease us about it._ ” Emma just chuckles, replacing a small strand of hair behind her ear. “ _Anyway, thank you for coming with me tonight._ ”

“No problem, Bonnie. See you later.”

“ _See ya’._ ”

She hangs up and looks at herself in the mirror, a proud smile settling on her face. She looks beyond gorgeous in that black dress, she couldn’t have done better. She turns around and takes the silver bag she chose on her bed, walking out of her room and going down the stairs to join her uncle. As she arrives, she frowns, hearing a conversation between Zach and Stefan.

“It was his favorite scotch. I’m sorry, I thought it would work.”

“I wasn’t counting on it.”

“You knew it would fail?”

“It did what I wanted. Lowered his guard. He won’t expect me to try again so soon.”

“...The double than what I put in the scotch.” Emma arrives just when Zach gives her uncle a small dose of something, Stefan taking it and turning around to find his niece. He stops in his tracks when he sees her, the girl looking at her family in silence.

She turns her head at Zach. “You showed him the vervain supply?”

“You knew about that?” Emma rolls her eyes at her uncle.

“I needed a secret weapon against you and dad, just in case something happens.” She crosses her arms on her chest, glaring at them. “And I’m guessing you’ll use that tonight.”

“Emma, he’s dangerous.” Stefan approaches her with a serious expression. “You know this.”

She takes a sharp breath in, exhaling it shakily.

“ _I know..._ I know he’s not an angel, okay? But he’s my **dad**.” She notices Zach averting his eyes, not really knowing what to say. “... look, just don’t do it tonight, okay? I would like to have fun with my family for once.”

“Wait, Emma-”

She ignores Stefan and walks away towards the entrance, deciding that she’ll wait for him in the car.

* * *

“What are you doing?”

It’s already night time, Emma having passing most of her night with her friend Bonnie. It was quite a fun night: she didn’t see Tyler, her and Bonnie danced, they sneakily drank some champagne, and they’re now sitting at an outside table, having a nice conversation until one of the candles blew out and Bonnie started to stare at it.

That’s how Emma’s question takes Bonnie out of her trance, the brown girl looking back at her friend in silence before she blinks.

“I-I thought...” She sighs, hiding her face with her hands. “I thought I could relight the candle.”

“With your psychic powers, right?” Bonnie nods, ashamed, but Emma smiles. “Why not try again? It’s not because it sounds crazy that it can’t be true.”

Her friend frowns, hesitating. “... are you... serious?”

“Yeah! Come on. Try again. I wanna see you use your powers.”

Bonnie slightly smiles, then takes a breath in.

“Okay, I’ll try again.”

She stares at the candle for a long time, Emma watching her in silence as to not destroy her concentration. After a few minutes, the brown-haired girl thinks about making a joke about how maybe she can’t light candles-

-but she gets cut off by the candle lightening up out of nowhere.

“Woah.” Emma keeps looking between the candle and Bonnie, realization hitting her. “Bonnie! You can light candles with your mind!”

“No, I can’t.” Bonnie blows out the candle in fear, almost shaking. “The wind must have relighted it.”

It’s Emma’s turn to blink at her friend in silence, the girl then understanding the atmosphere.

“... Yeah, you’re probably right.” She notices Elena leaving Stefan with a frustrated expression, her dad grinning from his place. “Okay, let’s go.”

“What?” Bonnie stands up with Emma, confusion on her face. “Why?”

The brown-haired girl smiles, taking her friend’s arm to drag her with her. “Our friend Elena just had a fight with my brother. She needs us.”

“Wait.” Bonnie goes back to the table and takes two plates of white cake, running back to her friend with a grin. “Okay, now we’re ready.”

* * *

“This is my fault, I planted doubt.” Bonnie takes a bite from one of the white cakes, sending Elena an apologetic expression. “I’m a doubt planter.”

“It’s not your fault.” Elena puts her hand on the brown girl’s shoulder, giving her a stern look. “I just... I feel terrible because I said that I wouldn’t get in the middle of it and then that’s exactly what I did.”

“Hey.” Emma points her fork at Elena. “Don’t be all mean to yourself. Stefan _does_ have an issue with talking about his past.”

“Yeah, but... I got all snotty.” The girl sighs, shaking her head. “I should have asked you about it first, Em’. You would have told me who to believe.”

“And the answer to that question is Stefan.” Emma gulps her bite of cake. “Never trust Damon unless you have absolute proof that he’s telling the truth.”

“Elena, honey. There you are.” The three girls look up to see Mrs. Lockwood sitting down in front of them, Emma instantly averting her eyes. “I noticed the watch still isn’t in the collection.”

“Oh, um...” Elena frowns and shakes her head. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Lockwood, I... I couldn’t find it. I guess it’s... still packed up in my parents' stuff somewhere.”

“I see...” Mrs. Lockwood gives out a fake smile. “Well please let me know if you do find it.”

Elena nods and whispers an approbation, Mrs. Lockwood standing up and leaving right after. As soon as she’s gone, the girl loses her smile, Bonnie and Emma instantly noticing it.

“I feel like she’s pressuring me to find it.” Elena frowns again as she turns to her friends. “What do you guys think?”

“Well, it is the third time she asks you about it.” Bonnie takes another bite of the cake, making the teenager remember about the call she received from Mrs. Lockwood earlier.

“Something’s fishy here.” Emma squints her eyes, thinking. “Maybe she’s hiding something from us.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Elena slightly hits her friend’s shoulders, already smiling. “You always think people are secretly evil with big evil plans. We’re not in a movie, Em’.”

“Can’t I dream?”

Bonnie stands up. “I’m gonna go get a drink, you guys want something?”

“Actually-” Elena also stands up. “I need to go retouch my makeup.”

“Oh, I’ll come with you.” Emma puts her plate of cake on the couch, imitating her friends. “I also need to re-apply some lipstick.”

“Alright, leave me alone.” Bonnie smirks, liking to tease her friends. “Just don’t forget to come to see me after.”

“We’ll do that, gorgeous.”

Emma winks, linking her arms with her brown-haired friend as they leave for the closest mirror, which was the one where Caroline was also redoing her makeup. They both share a hesitating look, walking over slowly before they stop on each side of their blond friend.

“Hey, Car’.” Emma smiles, taking out her lipstick from her purse.

“Hey.” The blond smiles back, Elena also sending her one as she turns to her. “So how are things with Stefan?”

Emma gives her friend a side look, but Elena just takes a small pause before answering with a bright smile.

“Great! Just great!”

“Really?” Caroline quirks an eyebrow as she applies her lipstick. “Well, my radar must be off, cause I was getting some other vibes.”

Elena looks at the blond’s neck, frowning. “What is that?”

“Hm?” Caroline looks back at her but has a violent movement when Elena flicks her blond hair away. “No, don’t.”

Emma shares a look with Elena, the latter girl grabbing Caroline’s scarf.

“Oh my god, Caroline!” Emma gasps when she sees the bite mark, but it’s Elena who gives the blond a worried expression. “What happened?”

“Nothing, okay!?”

“That is not nothing. Did somebody hurt you?”

“No! Okay? Nothing, it’s just-” She awkwardly laughs, trying to shrug it off. “... _he would kill me..._ ”

Emma drops her lipstick on the ground when she hears that, Elena moving Caroline’s shawl to see another bite on her back.

“Did Damon hurt you?”

“No!” She puts her shawl back, shaking her head with a smile. “Of course not!”

Elena tries to look for more bite marks, Caroline pushing her away immediately.

“Leave me alone! Okay, Elena?” She then walks away angrily, Elena and Emma sharing another look.

“... I’ll follow her.”

Elena nods, anger flashing through her eyes. “I’ll find Damon.”

They go to separate directions, Emma trying her best to follow her blond friend from far away. She manages to find her again in an empty room, the girl crying in a corner.

“.. Caroline...”

“No!” She turns around and points at Emma, fear clearly displayed on her face. “I’m fine, okay? Just leave me alone.”

“How much blood did he took from you?”

She blinks, looking confused. “What?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know.” The blond averts her eyes and breathes in with difficulty. “Caroline, _please_ , talk to me. He listens to me, I can protect you from him.”

Her face drops, tears coming down her face.

“ _H-he didn’t mean to hurt me, I swear..._ ”

Emma’s heart sinks at her friend’s words, all the positive thoughts she had about her father shattering down.

“Okay.” The blond calms down instantly, breathing out. “Do you want me to get you some water?”

“No, it’s fine.” She gives out a small smile, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “I would just like to be alone now, please.

“Alright, I’ll go.” Emma slowly walks away, sending her friend a last look. “I’m always here for you, okay?”

“Okay.” She hugs herself. “Thank you.”

Emma smiles, then leaves the room to try and find some water. She meets her dad on her way to the kitchen, the vampire losing her smile when he sees her angry expression.

“How could you...” Damon sighs, rolling his eyes. “She’s my friend, dad! How could you do this to my friend!?”

“No offense, Pumpkin, but...” He gives her a long look. “You could use some better friends.”

“Stefan was right.” She points at him, tears in her eyes. “You’re a dangerous person, and I don’t even know why I thought you could be a normal father.”

“Oh, cause Stefan’s perfect, right?” His smiles angrily. “Your uncle’s not as nice as you think, Pumpkin.”

“At least he’s not out there manipulating my friends and threatening to kill them!”

Damon drops his smile. “... how much did she tell, huh?”

“She said enough.”

“Oh, Pumpkin, Pumpkin...” The vampire shakes his head. “What do you want me to say? That I’m sorry? Okay, here you go, I’m sorry. Are you happy now?”

“I want you to stop threatening my friends.” Emma’s lip quiver, not being able to contain her tears. “I want you to stop fighting with uncle Stefan. I want you to be a loving father, who’s always there for me, but I know that’s impossible. So instead, I want you to leave this town, I want you to never come back, and I want you to stop calling. Ever.”

Damon’s expression change to a sad one, the vampire understanding that his actions have done some serious damage to his daughter.

“Oh, Pumpkin, come on... Don’t be like that! You know that I love you very much... I’ve always supported you! Remember when I killed your teacher? I did that to protect you, you know.”

“It’s funny how you think murder is an example of love and support.”

“Okay, maybe that was a bad example, but still! Sweetie, I’ll always be there for you-”

“You disappeared when I was twelve. You _never_ came to visit me for five years, not even for _five_ fucking minutes. And the day you finally come back? It’s to torture uncle Stefan, not to spend time with me.”

He sighs. “Emma...”

“I hate you, do you understand that? Every time you’re here, my whole life gets fucked up! I hate you _so fucking_ much!”

He closes his eyes for a second, her words hurting him.

“Okay, sweetheart, let me exp-” She steps back when he tries to touch her shoulder.

“I don’t know why you saved me when I was a baby...” She shakes her head at him. “But I wish you didn’t adopt me.”

She leaves before he can place a single word, the girl having forgotten her promise to get some water for Caroline. A huge wave of anger suddenly hit Damon, the vampire wanting nothing more than to find his pathetic human girlfriend.

* * *

Emma finds her uncle standing under a tree, tears still coming down her face as she stops beside him.

“I changed my mind.” Stefan turns around, frowning when he sees her state. “Poison dad, okay? Then throw him in a cell, bury him, kill him, I don’t care. Just make sure he completely disappears from my life.”

“Woah, Emma.” He puts his hands on her shoulders, worry settling in his pupils. “What happened?”

“That’s not important! What’s important is that you use the vervain Zach gave you to poison dad. And then, when he’s weak, you take care of him, so that he cannot hurt me or any of my friends ever again and-!”

“Hey, hey, _hey._ ” He forces her to look at his eyes. “Just breathe, okay? The plan’s already in action. He won’t do any more damage soon.”

She frowns in confusion. “W-why? What did you do with the vervain?”

“...I made Caroline drink it.”

Her eyes open wide, already knowing what’s going to happen.

* * *

Damon drags Caroline further away from the Lockwood’s house, Caroline crying.

“Don’t!” She tries to get away from his grip, but he yanks her back with violence and forces her to look at him. “Ah-Elena took it off and I got flustered, okay? I didn’t know what to say, but I swear, okay, I did not tell her! I just told Emma that you didn’t mean to hurt me...”

Damon looks at the girl in silence, his face having anger spasms as he tries to stop himself from choking her to death. He finally seems to calm down a little, the vampire walking around Caroline and hugging her from behind.

“You make me crazy, you know that?” He puts his hand on her shoulder and kisses her temple. “My daughter hates me because of you.”

She whimpers, starting to plead.

“It’s okay.” He kisses her cheek this time. “I forgive you.”

“I swear, I didn’t say any-”

“Sh-sh-sh-sh...” Caroline closes her eyes, feeling relieved as Damon continues to kiss her skin. “Unfortunately... I am so... over you now.”

He instantly bites her neck and drinks her blood, Caroline falling unconscious after a few seconds. As he continues to drink, he slowly lets her body fall on the ground, the vampire kneeling down at the same time while continuing drinking.

But he suddenly stops and pushes her away, his eyes closing as the world moves fast around him.

“ _Oh no..._ ” He falls on his back, coughing profusely to try to get the vervain away from his system. He notices Stefan slowly walking towards his form, but he doesn’t see his daughter watching from afar.

“I knew I couldn’t spike your drink... so I spiked hers.”

Damon just groans in pain as his brother kneels down beside him, the dark vampire closing his eyes as he falls unconscious. Stefan shares a look with Emma, the girl nodding at him to tell him that it’s okay.

When she blinks, they’re both gone.

“Emma?” The girl turns around to see Elena walking towards her. “What are you doing out here alone?”

“I’m still looking for Caroline.” She looks back at her blond friend, noticing that she’s now awake and standing. “I think it’s her.”

Elena looks at the blond, and nods. “Okay, let’s go.”

They walk together towards their friend, and Elena opens her mouth once they’re close enough.

“Caroline? Ugh, there you are. We’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Both girls stop beside the blond, noticing that she’s shaking and crying. “Are you okay?”

Caroline turns back to her friends. “I’m fine.”

“Caroline, what happened?”

She takes a breath in. “I’m fine.” Her breathing gets faster and louder. “I’m fine!”

“No, you’re shaking... Car-... Caroline-”

Emma understands that her friend is having a huge panic attack and doesn’t wait to hugs her.

“ _We’re here_.” She feels her friend cry on her shoulder, her hands grabbing her clothes. “We’re here. Just breathe, okay? You’re safe. _You’re safe._ ”

Emma shares a worried look with Elena, the girl not understanding what’s happening right now.

Emma wishes she could say the same thing.


	5. Season 1, Episode 5: You're Undead To Me

**Season 1, Episode 5: You're Undead To Me**

Damon groans in pain as he finally regains consciousness, his whole body threatening to break from the tension given by the vervain. He almost screams in agony, but he instead breathes in and out sharply, the pain cutting him off from time to time. He blinks two or three times before looking around his surroundings, and he recognizes the dungeons his family put under the boarding house. He touches his hands to try and find his protection and family ring, internally panicking when he understands that Stefan took it from him. He looks towards the door, sensing his brother’s presence, and sighs when he sees his dark expression through the door’s barred window.

“Where’s my...” A sharp pain goes through his body and closes his eyes for a second. “... ring...?”

Stefan tilts his head at the dark vampire, remembering seeing Emma leave the house with it.

“You won’t be needing it anymore.”

Damon sighs from the pain, turning his head from one side to the other while he tries to concentrate on something else.

“How long have I... been here...?”

“Three days.”

The dark vampire tries to move but hisses instead, not liking how seriously dark his brother is being. “What are you doing...?”

“During the dark ages, when a vampire’s actions threaten to expose or bring arm upon the entire race, they would face judgment.” Stefan takes a small pause seeing Damon’s confused expression. “They sought to re-educate them rather than to punish them.”

Damon almost chuckles inside, his brother still trying to turn him good in the end. He suddenly feels an aggravated thirst, his throat itching like it’s on fire.

“You know what would happen if I don’t...” He makes a tongue sound. “... feed blood.”

“You’ll grow weaker and weaker. And eventually, you won’t be able to move or speak. In a week, your skin will defecate and you’ll be mummified.” The dark vampire tries to move while his brother explains his future sufferance. “A living corpse... unable to hurt anyone... _ever._ ”

“So you’re just gonna leave me in the basement?” Damon snarls at the thought. “Forever?”

“I’ve injected you with enough vervain to keep you weak.” Stefan tilts his head again, watching his brother look around the cell. “Once your circulation stops, we’ll move you to the family crypt and then, in fifty years, we can reevaluate.”

The dark vampire hisses in pain, his breathing getting harder. “...I’m... stronger than you think.”

“You always have been.” Stefan's eyes seem to glow darker. “But you’re not stronger than the vervain... and we _both_ know it.”

Damon stays silent, staring at the empty wall in front of him, which makes Stefan take one step back.

“I’m sorry.” The dark vampire doesn’t even flinch from the words. “Didn’t have to be this way.”

As Stefan’s about to leave him alone in the dark, a thought passes through Damon’s head.

“ **Emma will look for me.** ”

Stefan stops in his tracks, not even looking back at the cell.

“She knows you’re in here.” He slightly turns his head so his brother can hear him better. “In fact, she’s the one who insisted that we do this.”

The words tore Damon’s heart apart. “No... you’re lying...”

“You went too far, Damon.” Stefan shakes his head. “She hates you now. You’ll never see her again.”

“No... don’t do this...” He hisses again, the image of his smiling daughter flashing through his closed eyes. “...don’t turn her against me...”

“You did that on your own.” Stefan walks towards the stairs. “And she chose to protect her friend.”

His steps echo on the ground as he leaves Damon in the dark.

* * *

Zach takes a sip of his coffee, watching Emma play with Damon’s ring on her finger. She’s been in that state for the last three days, always trapped inside her own mind when he or Stefan aren’t talking to her. The man sighs, not liking to see her like that. He’s about to ask her how she’s feeling when Stefan steps in the kitchen with his school bag on his shoulder.

“He’s awake.” Emma bolts her head up at the words, making Stefan shakes his head at her. “He’s weak, but... it’s probably best to stay out of the basement.”

She nods in understanding, then goes back to play with the ring.

“He’s Damon, watch how dangerous he still might be.” Emma hums as a response, her uncle making a move with his head towards the door. “Come on, Em’.”

Zach’s worried expression turns to a serious one, and the man gives Stefan a long look.

“You’re going to school?”

“I came here to have a life, about time to get back to that.” He takes a small pause. “And Elena, if she’s still... speaking to me.”

Zach sighs. “Why didn’t you call?”

“And what am I supposed to do, feed her another lie?” The vampire squints his eyes at the man. “I hate lying to her, Zach. She already thinks I’m hiding something.”

Emma sadly chuckles. “You are hiding something.”

Both men look back at the girl for a few seconds Stefan being the first one to open his mouth. “For her own protection.”

Zach gives the vampire a harder look. “What choice do you have? You came back here because you wanted to live a normal life as much as you could, you knew it was gonna be a part of it.”

The vampire turns silent, then sets his eyes on Emma.

“Emma, go take your bag.”

She sends him back a tired look. “Do I have a choice?”

His silence makes her think she doesn’t.

* * *

“Well, well, well.” Bonnie smirks at Emma opening her locker. “If it isn’t little miss Salvatore. In what honor can we be in your presence?”

The brown-haired girl hits her friend in the arm, gaining a laugh from her.

“Haha, no, seriously, Em’. Where were you?”

“Probably hiding away with Stefan.” Elena crosses her arms on her chest, a little irritated. “Not going to school for three days, must be a hell of a secret you two are hiding.”

Emma squints her eyes. “You don’t know anything.”

“Exactly.”

“Guys-” The two girls turn towards Bonnie, who’s giving out an awkward smile. “Just calm down, okay? Emma, how about you tell me what you and Stefan been up to?”

“I can’t really go in details, but-” She shakes her head, trying to forget her father slowly dying in the basement. “We’re dealing with huge family problems.”

Elena uncrosses her arms, her expression turning to a worried one.

“It’s that bad?”

“Yeah...” Emma sighs and looks back at her friends. “Everything’s kind of falling apart because of Damon...”

“Awn, sweetie.” Bonnie puts her hands on Emma’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Not really? But I don’t really want to talk about it.”

“Well, now I feel bad for being mean.” Elena sighs, looking away in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Em’.”

The brown-haired girl smiles. “It’s fine, you didn’t know.”

“I want _inner_ face sexy.” The three girls turn towards one of the hallways, only to see Caroline smiling brightly at other girls. “I mean, it’s a fundraiser for god sake.”

The blond stops in her tracks to put up a piece of paper on the wall and Elena turns back towards Bonnie and Emma.

“Un. Believable.” The brown-haired girl shakes her head. “It’s like nothing happened!”

Bonnie gives out a small smile. “She’s in denial”.

The three girls observe Caroline laugh with some other teenagers, Emma eventually closing her locker.

“I’m going to see her.”

They don’t have time to stop her that she’s already beside the blond, who’s now giving the brown-haired girl a wild smile.

“Emma, hi! It’s been a while, where have you been?”

“Taking care of a few family matters.” Emma gives out a small smile. “How are you, Car’?”

Caroline chuckles awkwardly. “I’m... fine. Why?”

“You know if you need to talk-”

“I don’t want to-”

“Will you let me finish?” Caroline sighs but stays silent to signal that she’s letting Emma continue. “If you _ever_ need to talk, eat loads of your favorite food, spend time in silence, go shopping or even talk about boys... I’m here. Hit me up with anything you need.”

Caroline cracks a smile. “Thanks, Em’.”

“No problem.”

“Actually-” She shows you one of the piece of papers she was hanging up, her smile turning to a smirk. “-I would _love_ for you to participate.”

Emma makes a grimace. “Ugh, I don’t know-”

“Pup pup pup!” The blond raises a finger. “You said you’d do anything for me.”

The brown-haired girl gasps and dramatically puts her hand on her forehead. “Oh no! I was tricked by my own kindness How can I ever escape this horrendous situation?”

Caroline hits Emma in the shoulder, both of them ending up in giggles.

“Just come, okay? I promise that if you’re _really_ uncomfortable, I’ll let you go.”

“Alright.” Emma points at her friend. “But I’m only doing this because I care about you.”

“I care about you too.” Her blue eyes set behind her friend, her expression changing to an even happier one. “Stefan!”

Emma doesn’t have time to react that Caroline is already gone, the brown-haired girl turning around to see that Elena has been long abandoned by Bonnie at the grips of her uncle. Her blond friend’s smile grows wider as she comes between the two used-to-be lovebirds, Emma slowly joining them.

“Stefan? Where’s Damon? He has some _serious_ apologizing to do.”

Both Emma and her uncle share a small look, the vampire being the one to bring the blond the news.

“He’s gone, Caroline.”

The young girl seems to have been hurt by the words. “...When is he coming back?”

There’s a small silent where Emma puts her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “He’s not coming back, Car’.”

Elena turns her head towards Emma, then back to Stefan, her expression full of surprised. The vampire nods at his niece’s response, giving the blond a sad smile.

“I’m sorry.”

Stefan shares a last look with Elena before he walks away, leaving the three girls alone. Emma continues to comfort her blond friend the best she can, Elena soon noticing Caroline’s dull eyes.

“This is a good thing, Car’.”

The blond blinks. “I know that.”

Emma’s not so sure about that.

* * *

“Hey.” Zach gives Emma a small smile when she comes into the kitchen. “You came home early.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling well, so the teacher let me go in advance.” She sits down at the table while putting her bag on the ground. “Stefan will come home soon too.”

“Good. Do you know if-”

He gets cut off by loud coughs coming from the basement, the sounds making Emma’s body tense up. Zach gives her a long look, silently signaling her to stay here while he goes see what’s happening. She wants to tell him to not go, that it might be too dangerous, but instead she stays silent and wait for him to come back, hoping that he will be fine.

The man slowly steps towards the cell’s door, only hearing his own heartbeat now.

“I’m full of vervain.”

Damon opens his eyes wide.

“I’ve been putting it in my coffee for the last sixteen years...” The man slightly looks back towards the stairs to be sure Emma hasn’t followed him. “I’ve also been putting it in Emma’s orange juice... So our blood will only make it worse.”

There’s a silence where the dark vampire doesn’t say anything, his eyes giving the door a quick look.

“... Damon?

“You know I’d never take Emma’s blood...” The dark vampire twitches his lips. “So it was your vervain... good for you... good for you...”

Zach walks close enough to be able to see Damon laying down on the cement bed.

“Family only matters to the deep, huh?”

The vampire coughs again, but it’s his words that makes Zach change his expression for a hard one. “You’re not family, Damon. Only in the most dysfunctional sense.”

Damon slowly turns his head towards Zach, sending him an annoyed expression.

“In fact, I’ve been leaving a loving and breathing family for years because of you.” The man shakes his head. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Emma, but I’m not the one who adopted her.”

The vampire stops himself from growling. “I guess I can’t talk you into bringing me ram or something.”

Zach shakes his head. “You know I can’t do that.”

Damon looks up at the ceiling, trying his best to hear his daughter’s breathing through the pain. “Is Emma upstairs...? I can’t quite hear if she’s there...”

Zach’s seem to tense up, his expression hardening. “That’s none of your concern.”

The vampire chuckles. “I’m her father.” He looks back at Zach. “Everything about her is my concern.”

“Well, maybe I should be her father.” He crosses his arm on his chest, eying the vampire. “I’ve been more present than you since you took her in.”

Damon slightly twitches, looking down at the door.

“You’ve succeeded, Zach.” He takes a small pause. “I’m shutting down.”

Zach bites his bottom lip, almost feeling pity for his ancestor.

“You’re like your grandfather...” Damon smiles as he closes his eyes. “He didn’t like my visits either...”

“You don’t visit, Damon. You _appear._ ” The dark vampire opens his eyes again, more than annoyed now. “Unannounced, letting Emma guessing if she’ll ever see you again and reminding me that this _isn’t_ my house, that you’re just permitting me to live here. Hell, that you’re permitting me to live.”

“Somewhere...” He blinks, giving out a small smile. “... around the line?”

Zach scoffs, looking away. “I came to say goodbye, Damon... and Emma will probably do the same soon.”

The man turns around to walk away, Damon’s expression falling down as he lunges towards the door and grabs Zach’s throat through the door’s open window. Zach gasps for air, trying to put away the vampire’s hands without any success. Damon approaches his face, his brain boiling in rage.

“ **The door, Zach.** ”

The man is about to unlock the door when Stefan appears, taking hold of Damon’s hand and freeing Zach at the same time. He falls down on the ground just as Stefan squeezes his brother’s hand, pushing him back into the cell’s floor right after. Stefan helps Zach back up from the ground, the young vampire turning his attention back on a coughing Damon.

“Keep it up, Damon. More energy you’ll expend, the faster you’ll go!”

Damon moves his head up when he hears someone running down the stairs, the vampire instantly recognizing Emma’s scent.

“Is everything alright?”

He smiles at the sound of her voice. “Pumpkin...”

She tenses up. “Dad?”

The dark vampire groans in pain as he tries to stand up, but Stefan turns towards his niece before he gets a chance to see her.

“Emma, help Zach back upstairs, please.”

She hesitates, rethinking about their plan.“But-”

“ _Now!_ ”

She gives the cell’s door one last look, her father not having time to come to the door before she takes her cousin’s arm and helps him up the stairs. When he finally puts his head in the window’s slit, all he sees is her back disappearing in the darkness.

“Pumpkin...” His lips twitch. “They’ve turned you against me...”

“This was the last time you saw her.” Damon turns his attention back to his brother, who’s giving him the meanest look he’s ever seen. “ _I’ll make sure of it._ ”

He leaves him there in the dark, the dark vampire soon falling back onto his cement bed in agony.

* * *

When Jeremy opens his room’s door, he can’t help but smile as his eyes linger on Emma’s form sitting on his bed, the brown-haired girl going through his old sketchbook. He found it weird when she and Stefan came knocking and asking if they could come in, but he’s now pretty glad since he gets to spend the night with his girlfriend.

“Hey there, you.” Emma looks up at him just as he closes the door behind him. She closes his sketchbook and puts it on his nightstand when he sits down beside her.

“Hey.” She gives out a smile and her eyes sweeten. “Thank you for letting me crash here for the night.”

“Are you kidding? I love having you here.” He gives her lips a quick peck, making her giggle. “You can crash at my place for as long as you want.”

“Thanks, you’re sweet.” She traps his hand within her, intertwining their fingers together. “And thank you for letting Stefan do something romantic for Elena.”

“Well, I was feeling romantic.” Emma snorts, making his smile grow wide. “What?”

“You’re adorable.”

“Oh, _I’m_ adorable?” He gets his face closer to hers. “I thought _you_ were.”

“Hmmm....” Her smile turns to a smirk, her face inches away from his. “Maybe we both are.”

She crashes her lips against his, her hands finding a way through his hair while he hugs her closer. He puts his forehead against hers when they part away, trying to catch their breath.

“I think I can live with that.” He gives her nose a little kiss, which makes her chuckle. “By the way, Vicky invited us to hang out with her tomorrow.”

“Ugh, I can’t.” She sighs. “I promised Caroline I would participate in the car wash.”

Jeremy laughs out loud. “I can’t imagine you do that!”

She hits him in the shoulder, but he doesn’t quite stop laughing.

“Stop it! I can do it just like everyone else, okay?”

“Huh-huh, sure.” His laughter calms down, a smile remaining on his lips. “Don’t mind if I hang out with Vic’ while you wash cars?”

She smirks. “You would miss the chance of seeing me in a bikini?”

“You’re tempting me.” He boops her nose, making her scrunch it. “Not fair.”

She giggles. “Sorry... but yeah, you can hang out with Vic’. I don’t mind.”

She gives him a small kiss on the lips before parting away.

“Just make sure you don’t die or something like that.”

“I promise.” His eyes linger on her fingers, noticing the ring. “Woah, what’s that?”

“That... is a ring that has been in my family for centuries.” A flash of his father laying down in the cell comes to her mind, but she shakes her head to push it away. “It was my father’s.”

“Oh, he gave it to you?”

She shakes her head. “No, but...” She gives out a small smile. “I like to think he would have.”

Jeremy takes her chin between his fingers and gives her lips a kiss.

“I’m sure he would have loved you to have it.”

* * *

The next morning, Stefan is back in the basement, observing his dying brother in his cell who’s currently sitting in the farthest corner of the room and his head against the wall. The younger vampire stares at him for a couple more seconds then decides to walk away.

“I bet you’re feeling pretty good about yourself...” Stefan stops in his tracks when he hears Damon’s febrile voice. “... aren’t ya...?”

He comes back in front of the door, watching his brother still sitting in the corner.

“Not particularly.”

“You won... You’ve got the bad guy... Now nothing can come between you and Elena...” Damon turns his head towards his brother. “Except for the truth...Your lies will catch up to you, Stefan... As long as you keep lying to yourself about who you are...”

Stefan can’t help but let out a small smirk.

“The beauty of you in there and me out here is that I can walk away.”

Damon’s upper lip twitches. “You’ll never replace me.”

The younger vampire quirks an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“Emma will never see you as her father.”

Stefan scoffs. “I think I’m more of a father to her than you are.”

“Wait until she knows what you did.” Stefan slowly gulps, Damon’s lips turning into a smile. “How you slit her family’s throat and drain them of their blood... and then left a crying baby in its crib for me to take care of...”

The younger vampire shakes his head. “You won’t tell her that.”

“Of course I will.”

“No, you won’t.” Stefan’s eyes harden. “Because she’ll be long gone when I’ll bring you back from the dead.”

He leaves Damon there alone in the dark, the vampire snarling at the cell’s door.

“Not if I free myself first...”

* * *

Emma’s sitting behind the car wash’s stand between Elena and Caroline, the girl currently playing with her dad’s ring on her finger. She’s wearing a simple black bikini with shorts and an open gray hoodie which reveals the swimsuit fabric while also making her less uncomfortable. She hisses when her blond friend flickers her nose, having tried to get her attention for the last few minutes.

“Now that you’re back here...” Caroline gives Emma and Elena a stern look. “Now, remember guys: No free discounts, no freebies, _no_ pay laters. We are _not_ running a charity here.”

Elena nods and gives out a small smile. “No, we’re not.”

The blond turns her attention to Emma, who rolls her eyes.

“Everyone has to pay, I get it.”

Caroline smiles brightly. “Good!”

Her blue eyes look behind her two friends, Emma turning her head in time to see her uncle smiling down at his girlfriend.

“Hey.”

Elena turns around and smiles before standing up. “Hey!”

“Uh...” Caroline stands up and crosses her arms over her chest, quirking a judgy eyebrow at the couple. “The event is called ‘sexy studs’? You know?”

Her and Elena share a long look, in which the blond ends up with a proud smirk before leaving. Emma rolls her eyes at her but not without a small smile, Stefan frowning in confusion.

“Did we just get scolded?”

“And judged, yeah.” Elena turns back to him with a smile, her eyes looking down at his shirt. “I’m sorry, but I guess you’re gonna have to take that off.”

Stefan’s smile widens. “Um... I think you have to go first.”

“Aaaaaand I’m out.” Emma stands up, giving her friend and her uncle a small salute. “Call me back when you’re done.”

She hears Elena laugh at her reaction and spots Stefan’s smirk stretching out, only for her to smile back while walking towards Bonnie washing a car with Matt.

“Hey, girl!” Bonnie’s lips turn to a huge smile and she hangs her a towel when she stops beside her. “Wanna help us with this car?”

“Sure, why not?” She takes the towel in her hands and starts drying the hood of the car. “Just tell me when you see Car’ come back to the stand.”

“We’ll do.” Matt’s eyes look down on her hands, spotting the ring on her finger. “Hey, since when do you wear rings?”

“Huh?” Bonnie turns her head back towards Emma, her eyebrows frowning in confusion. “Wait, isn’t that Damon’s ring?”

“Yeah...” Emma looks at the blue ring, the sun reflecting on it. “He forgot it when he left...”

Bonnie quirks an eyebrow. “Then why are you wearing it? Isn’t he a bad guy?”

“Yeah, but... he’s still my brother.” The brown-haired girl sighs, then goes back to dry the car. “We used to be very close, you know? I would like to remember him like that.”

“That’s a nice thought.” Matt gives out a warm smile. “You have a kind heart, Em’.”

She gives back a smile. “I try to keep it that way.”

He turns his attention back towards the stand, his face falling into a hard stare when he spots Elena and Stefan kissing. Emma and Bonnie both share a look, the brown girl being the first one to react.

“Nuh-huh. No.” The blond blinks and looks back at her. “None of that torture stuff.”

A smirk breaks out of his lips. “Just observing.”

Emma snorts. “Yeah, _right._ ”

“Oh!” Bonnie spots a dirty red car parking right beside her, making her turn around to try and find someone free to clean it. “Ticci! This one yours.”

Ticci’s expression turn to disgust once she sees the car and the owner, a young guy who seems to be pretty shy.

“Why do I always get the lonely ones?” Bonnie and Emma both frown at her words, the girl eying the car meaningly. “Ugh. Just to be clear, your car’s a POS. I mean, we can wash it, but... it’s still a POS.”

Bonnie scoffs. “You don’t have to be rude!”

“No, rude is riding that junk.”

The guy throws his keys on the car seat, pain present in his eyes as he walks away. Ticci rolls her eyes at him then bends down to put more water in her bucket. Emma sighs and goes back to drying the car, but Bonnie continues to stare at her like she’s in some kind of trance.

That’s when the water in the bucket explodes and hits Ticci, making her scream. Bonnie gasps in surprise while Emma only stares in shock, which leaves Matt to run over to the girl and save her from the crazy hose.

“What the hell!”

“Woah! Hey!” Matt laughs as he gets the hose out of Ticci’s hands and hands her his towel. “Wet and Wild, Tic’!”

Emma looks over at Bonnie, wondering how’s she doing.

She’s never seen her look so terrified before.

"Bonnie..."

"Caroline's back." The brown girl gives her friend a long look. "You should go."

* * *

While Elena and Stefan are washing one car, the brown-haired girl glaze over the ring on his finger.

“You’re getting soap in that.”

The vampire looks down at his blue ring and gives his girlfriend a small smile.

“Oh, it’s fine.”

He then goes back to washing the car with his towel, letting Elena think.

“I noticed that Damon had one too before Emma got it. Is there a story behind it?”

“Yeah, it’s the, uh... it’s the family crest from the Time Renaissance.”

Elena drops her towel to walk over to him, taking his hand in hers to watch the ring closer.

“Huh.” She glazes back into Stefan’s eyes. “What’s the stone?”

He puts his free hand over hers. “It’s called Lapis Lazuli.”

“Huh...” She gives out a smile looking at the soap in the ring. “You should really take it off... I can put it in my bag.”

Stefan breathes in, then frees his hand from hers. “No, it’s... it’s fine, really. Thanks, though.”

“Okay...” She frowns, her mind working. “I’m gonna get some towels.”

She walks away to go back towards the stand where Caroline and Emma are now working, unaware of Stefan staring at her from afar. She smiles when she finally arrives beside her two friends, sitting down beside the brown-haired girl.

“Hey, we’re out of towels and those shimmy things.”

Emma hums. “I think there’s some in the janitor’s closet.”

“Great! We’ll get some more.” Caroline stands up while forcing Emma to follow her, the blond turning back to give Elena a last look. “Handle the money, okay?”

Emma sends her brown-haired friend a ‘please help me’ look, only to see her chuckle at her and wave with a smirk. Emma squints her eyes and mouths the word ‘traitor’, which makes Elena laugh out loud.

“Em’, you’re coming or not?”

The girl shakes her head and follows the blond inside the school dark hallways, the two girls turning a few corners before they spot the janitor’s closet. Caroline’s the one taking the handle in her hand, only to shake it around in vain.

_... Caroline... help me..._

“Guess it’s locked.” Emma looks at her friend with a smile. “Do you know who could have the key?”

But her friend doesn’t respond and instead looks at the darkness in silence.

_Carolines.... help... me..._

“Um, hello?” The brown-haired girl waves her hand in front of the blond’s blue eyes. “Car’? Are you there?”

“Do you have towels at your house?”

Emma frowns in confusion. “Um... yeah? Why?”

“Then let's go get them.”

She walks away towards the school’s entrance, almost brain-washed. Emma snorts and shakes her head.

“I think it would be easier to just ask for the key-”

“ _We’re going to your house._ ” Caroline’s dark voice makes Emma jump in surprise, but the blond gives out a sweet smile. “You said you’d do anything for me, right?”

The brown-haired girl takes a small pause before nodding. “... yeah...?”

“Well, I wanna go to your house to get towels.” Her smile stretches out. “Besides, I wanna see what the inside looks like.”

Emma bites her bottom lip in hesitation, thinking of her dad locked up in the cell back in the basement, but then she sighs.

“Alright, fine.”

“Thank you! But I’ll go get my jacket first, I’m freezing.”

The brown-haired girl follows the blond from behind, her mind being unsure about all of this. But they’re just getting towels and stuff, right?

What’s the worst that could happen?

* * *

“That’ll be twenty dollars.” Elena looks up from the box money to see a black old-man counting his bills to give her the right count, her eyes lighting up from recognizing him. “I saw you last night...”

The old man looks at her face, confused.

“You were talking to a friend of mine? At the Grill?”

He seems to replace where he met her and nods. “Well, I.... I thought he was somebody I knew.”

She puts her hands under her chin, feeling curious. “Stefan Salvatore.”

“No, it can’t be...” He lifts his shoulders up for a moment and shakes his head. “Just my mind playing tricks on me.”

Elena tilts her head in wonder. “Where do you think you’d seen him before?”

He takes a moment to think. “When I first moved here I stayed in the Salvatore’s boarding house.”

She smiles sweetly. “Oh.”

“Stefan was.... just passing through to visit his uncle. I mean, none of us knew he was even there until the attack.”

She puts her hand back on the table. “The attack?”

“His uncle got killed, mauled by an animal in the woods.”

Elena frowns in confusion, then gives out a small chuckle.

“His uncle...? Zach...?”

The old man shakes his head in negative. “Joseph.”

“Um... I’m sorry, sir. I’ve been friends with Emma Salvatore since I was four and I don’t think I’m familiar with the story.”

“Well, how could you? This happened years ago. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know the story herself.”

Elena’s doubts and questions on Stefan seem to multiply, her thoughts getting interrupted by Ticci.

“Grandpa. You gotta go, mom wants you home. Okay?”

The old man takes a moment to analyze what she just said, then nods and walks away. Ticci turns to Elena, a small smile on her lips.

“He wasn’t bugging you, was he? He’s a little Alzheimer.”

“No, he was... He was sweet.” She stands up and almost runs towards the old man, stopping him by putting her hand on his shoulder. “Hey, sir? Sorry. Um... Are you sure that the man you saw... that you knew, his name was Stefan Salvatore?”

“... Yes...” He nods, slowly remembering. “I remember his ring and his brother-”

“Damon?”

He nods again. “Yeah. Stefan and Damon Salvatore.”

“What about Emma Salvatore?”

“There was no Emma Salvatore back then. In fact, I think there hasn’t been a female Salvatore until your friend arrived.”

Elena shakes her head in disbelief. “When... When was Joseph’s attack?”

“Um... It was... early...” He looks away to think better. “June... Nineteen fifty-three...? Yeah. June, nineteen fifty-three.”

Elena just continues to stare at him, not quite believing what her brain’s trying to grasp.

“Anyway, have a good day, young lady.”

She gives out an awkward smile, letting the old man go while she turns back towards the washing cars. She puts her hands in her jean’s pocket, her mind going wild as her eyes set on Stefan back where she left him earlier. She smiles when he looks back at her, then tries to calm down her pounding heart when he stops washing one of the cars to come and talk to her.

“Caroline finally freed you, huh?”

She gulps, putting her hair away from her sweaty neck. “I... I don’t know where she went. She and Emma abandoned me.”

Stefan frowns hearing that his niece has also disappeared, but his concerns soon wash away when she takes his hands in hers.

“Hey, I realized earlier I had no idea your family was... from Italy.”

“No?” He plays with her fingers, giving out a playful smirk. “The last name ‘Salvatore’ didn’t do it for you?”

She snorts. “Right. Duh. Are there... any other... Salvatore’s in Mystic Falls?”

Stefan takes a moment to think. “Well, there’s Emma and my uncle Zach.”

“Where did everyone else go?”

He breathes in while thinking. “Kind of... spread out. Why?”

Elena seems taken by surprise and tries to find a good response.

“Just... trying to learn more about you.”

Which is technically not a lie.

* * *

“Where are you taking me?”

Jeremy follows Vicky around the forest, a huge smile on his face while the eighteen-year-old looks back at him.

“You can’t hide in your room all the time.” She looks back in front of her, her smile stretching out. “Welcome to my other favorite party place.”

Jeremy frowns upon seeing the tombstones. “What, the cemetery?”

“Yeah, it’s cool, huh? Kind of sad Emma couldn’t come.”

“She had the car washing thing.”

Vicky snorts. “Boring.”

“ _Yo, Vic’!_ ”

The girl’s smile widens as she walks towards the stone group, Jeremy following her from behind.

“What’s up, Jared?”

One of the guy’s points at Jeremy with his chin. “You’re babysitting, Donovan?”

“This is Jeremy, he’s cool.”

The guy nods. “Smoke up!”

Just as he says that, Jared hands Vicky the joint he was just inhaling. The girl takes it between her fingers before smoking it, turning back to Jeremy to breathe out the smoke in his face. He shakes his head while chuckling, not having expected that.

He likes hanging out with Vicky, but he’s not sure Emma would have liked being here.

* * *

Elena stops at a table beside her aunt Jenna, a smile coming on her lips.

“Your car was done an hour ago.”

Jenna looks back at her niece and stands up.

“You’re saying that out loud why?”

Logan Fell, a news reporter, arrives at the scene, his eyes recognizing Elena.

“Hi! Elena, right?” He puts his hand in front of him and shakes hers, the brown-haired girl listening to his words. “I think I met you once when you were nine.”

“Oh.”

Jenna scoffs. “Your emotional maturity level, when we were together.”

“Ouch! Here I thought we were making progress.”

Jenna smirks, her attention turning back to her niece.

“Is he... enough in your good graces that I can ask him for a favor?”

Logan turns to Jenna. “If I do her a favor, do I get back in your good graces?”

Jenna sighs. “A very reluctant maybe to both.”

“Done!” Logan takes a moment to think and turns back to Jenna. “Wait. One condition: Dinner, tonight, your house.”

Elena shares a small smile with Jenna, who makes a lot of effort to keep a hard face.

“Fine.” She looks back at Logan before smirking. “But you’re eating leftovers.”

“Oooh.” His reaction makes Elena chuckles and he turns his attention back to her. “What do you need?”

“Do you have access to all the news stories, says... 50’s?”

“Yeah, it’s at the station. Between the archives and the internet, we pretty much have everything.”

Elena tries to find an excuse. “I have this report with Emma way past you, and she can’t find anything in the Salvatore’s library, so you’d be a lifesaver.”

“We can go there now.”

Elena’s face breaks out a huge smile and he makes a movement towards the news' car. “Let’s go.”

The brown-haired girl turns to her aunt before following him.

“If anyone asks, you don’t know where I went. I don’t want Caroline to know that I left.”

Jenna quirks an eyebrow. “What about Emma?”

“You know her, a little too proud of her family’s library to ask for anyone else’s help.” She takes her bag and gives a far away Stefan a last look before walking where Logan left. “I’ll see you later!”

* * *

Emma and Caroline finally arrive at the Salvatore’s boarding house, the blond staring at it in silence with blank eyes. The brown-haired girl gives her friend a worried look before looking back at her house.

“We’re here.” She notices Caroline starting to walk towards it, and she follows her while getting her keys out. “Now, remember. We take towels and then we leave.”

“Huh-huh.”

Emma stares at her friends for a few seconds before she opens the door and steps inside, the blond following right after. They take a few more steps in before the brown-haired girl stops in her tracks, looking back at Caroline.

“Okay, I’m gonna go get them. Just wait here, okay?”

The blond slowly nods, and Emma leaves to try and find her cousin Zach. She finally finds him when she pops her head inside his office, giving him a small smile.

“Hey.”

He jumps up in surprise, before giving her a smile. “Hey! You’re home early.”

“We’re missing towels. Do you know where we put the spare ones?”

He quirks an eyebrow. “Um... I think there’s some in the bathroom’s closet upstairs.”

“Which one?”

He snorts. “The one in the hallway.”

“Okay, good. I’ll just go grab them and we’ll leave you alone.”

He frowns in confusion. “What do you mean, ‘we’?”

“Oh.” She stops from leaving, feeling a little insecure. “Caroline’s here, but we’ll leave soon.”

He stands up violently. “You left her alone?”

“She’s just waiting for me, it’s no big-”

He walks past her towards the entrance area and she follows him, not understanding why he’s panicking so much. But she seems to understand when they arrive at where she left Caroline and she sees that her friend is no longer in sight.

“What-”

She doesn’t have time to finish her sentence that Zach is already finding the hidden stairs and going to the basement, and Emma follows him. They walk around the different hallways until they arrive where they put her dad a few days ago. She just has enough time to see Caroline unlocking her dad’s cell that her cousin’s already throwing himself against the door.

“ _No!_ ” He tries his best to put the door back while Damon pushes back, his eyes turning to Emma and Caroline. “ _Run! Get yourselves out here!_ ”

Damon puts his eyes on his daughter, some of his force seeming to come back to him as he pushes even harder than before.

“ _Emma..._ ”

“Caroline, let’s go!”

Emma doesn’t wait to take her friend’s arm and run towards where the stairs are, none of them looking back. She feels her breathing get heavier, tears starting to run down her face when she hears the sound of bones cracking. She’s running up the stairs with Caroline when her friend’s stops, Damon having grabbing her feet. He tries to bring her back towards him, but she kicks him off of her and takes Emma’s hand. Both girls intertwine their fingers together while they continue to run, ignoring the weak vampire’s steps behind them. Caroline lets go of Emma’s hand to make a speed run and open the door, the blond soon going out. Emma does the same, but when she hears screams of agony, she stops on the porch and looks back to see her dad burning from the sun. He steps away from the light to get back in the darkness, his skin already healing up while he looks back at his daughter.

“Emma...” He tries to control his pain. “Please come back...”

She shakes her hand, taking another step towards the sun. He tries to reach her with his hand to stop her, but he backs away when the light burns him.

“Please... Pumpkin...” More tears fall down on her face when he says her nickname. “I need your help...”

She shakes her head again, her hand subconsciously making sure her dad’s ring’s still on her finger. His eyes follow her movement, and a small smile comes to his lips upon seeing it.

“Give me that...”

“ _No..._ ” She takes another step back. “If I do that, you’ll kill me.”

He seems taken aback by that.

“Pumpkin... I could never kill you.”

“ _You’re a monster._ ” Her eyes seem to harden despite the tears. “ **You can kill anyone.** ”

“ _Emma!_ ”

Caroline’s voice seems to take her back to reality and she comes back to running, leaving her dad behind. She eventually gets in the blond’s car before she drives them away, all under the stare of the dark vampire.

“You hate me... No.. No, no, no...!”

He grabs his head, the pain hitting his brain with invisible blades.

“It’s their fault...”

He hisses when the pain moves to his stomach, his anger rising in his eyes.

“ **They’ll pay for this.** ”

* * *

“We digitized all the archives last year. You can put up all the remote footage right up on the screen.” Logan shows Elena around the news offices, taking her towards an empty one with a public computer that has access to everything. “What is it exactly you’re looking for?”

“An incident from the nineteen fifty-three-” She sits down on the chair, looking back at him. “-if it even happened... at the old Salvatore’s boarding house?”

She gets cut off by Logan’s cellphone ringing.

“Sorry, one second” The man answers. “Yeah? ... fire? Alright. I’ll be right there.”

He hangs up and looks back at Elena. “I gotta go. Do you believe there’s actual news to cover in this town?”

She gives out a chuckle as an answer.

“Alright, use the keywords to search the base - it’s pretty easy to navigate - and Brady, down tech, will help you out with anything you need. Alright?”

She smiles. “Okay.”

He smiles back and walks towards the exit, but stops and turns back.

“Oh, hey. Could you put in a good word for me with Jenna?”

She nods. “You got it.”

“Alright, good luck.”

He closes the door behind him, leaving her alone in the small office. She loses her smile and turns back towards the computer, starting to put in keywords.

Hopefully, she’s just being paranoid.

* * *

Jeremy snorts, taking Vicky’s attention.

“What?”

“I’m stoned in a cemetery.” He chuckles, shaking his head. “Emma would be freaked out right now.”

“Good thing she’s not here then.” She closes her eyes for one second, listening to the birds. “You know what? I’m gonna take us up a notch.”

Jeremy takes another sip of his beer while she goes through her bag, taking out something from it before turning to one of her friends.

“Hey, Tony.”

She throws the thing to him and he catches it, the guy laughing happily when he notices that it’s a bottle of pills.

“Oooh, nice! Vickies from Vicky!”

His girlfriend takes the bottle from him, reading the prescription. “Oh, thank you, Elena Gilbert! Whoever you are.”

Jeremy’s head snap, all happy expression gone from his face as he looks back at Vicky.

“You took those from my house?”

Her smile widens. “Yeah, when you let me go to the bathroom.”

“Why did you think you could take them!”

She chuckles. “She wasn’t using it.”

Jeremy stands up and walks towards Tony. “She’s gonna notice if they’re gone, it’s not cool.”

He takes the bottle of pill from the guy.

“It’s no big deal, Jer’.”

“Yeah, it kind of is.” He gives her a hard look. “ _Vic’._ ”

“Damn, dude.” Tony laughs while Jeremy walks away. “Vicky brought the party police!”

“Shut up, Tony.”

The eighteen-year-old girl stands up to follow Jeremy inside the forest, the boy showing off his anger in his steps.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you mad.”

“Well, what are we doing partying in a cemetery with a bunch of losers? I don’t even understand why you would invite Emma to that.”

Vicky frowns. “Those are my friends! I thought she would have liked them.”

“She’s a classy girl and they’re a waste of space small town lifers!”

She stops in her tracks, her eyes darkening in anger. “Yeah? Then what am I?”

He stops to look back at her. “You’re different, Vic’.”

“No, _you_ are! You’re the kid with the _big_ house who’s acting up because his parents died, and Emma’s the perfect girl with the perfect life. Guess what? _You’ll_ get over it. You will pull yourself together, move on and one day tell your kids stories about your dark period growing up and how Emma was the light of your life. And _I’ll_ still be here, waiting tables at the Grill, partying at the cemetery with a bunch of waste of space small town lifers.”

He takes a small pause, understanding how harsh he was.

“Look- Vic-”

“Go home, Jeremy!” A tear falls down on her cheek. “If I wanna feel like crap about myself, I’ll just go back to Tyler.”

She goes back towards where the cemetery is while Jeremy shakes his head at himself, before walking furthermore into the forest.

* * *

While the news’ crew prepare to explain to their viewers how a car was suddenly on fire for no reason, Stefan walks towards Matt cleaning the pavement.

“Hey, have you seen Elena and Emma?”

The blond gives him a long look before he stops to put his hands on top of the broom. “No, not for a while.”  
Stefan looks around, trying to spot either his girlfriend or his niece. “Do you think they went home? I was supposed to take Emma with me.”

Matt shakes his head, a small smile on his lips. “Not sure.”

Stefan nods. “Thanks.”

He’s about to leave when Matt stops him.

“Hey!” Stefan turns back, waiting for the blond to continue. “I’m not saying this for you, I’m saying it for Elena, but... She’s big on trust. So whatever you’re holding back from her, the more you try to hide it the more she won’t stop until she figures it out.”

Matt then goes back to sweeping, Stefan simply staring at him for a long time.

* * *

Elena stares between the screen and the keyboard in concentration, typing the words ‘Joseph Salvatore’ and ‘animal attack’ to try and find the information she needs. Finally, the system finds her one match named ‘Joseph Salvatore’ and was made the June 12 in 1953. She opens it, which shows her a black and white video of a news reporter in front of the Salvatore’s boarding house.

“ _This is Franklin Fell, reporting to you from the Salvatore’s boarding house where a brutal animal attack has ended in tragedy._ ”

Elena frowns, watching the news reporter making his crew film the police officers taking the body in the ambulance. She continues to watch, wondering if that’s all the event has to offer.

“ _Is that the nephew?_ ”

Just as the news reporter says this to the camera, the crew takes a closer look on a man standing in the entrance from far away. Elena pauses the video, thinking she recognized the man and makes the computer an even closer look on him. She squints her eyes, trying to make the old video look better, only for her eyes to go wide when she recognizes her boyfriend Stefan.

“How...” She looks at the door that is still close before looking back at the camera. “Is this possible?”

She’s not sure if she wants to know.

* * *

Emma’s sitting on Caroline’s bed staring at the ring on her finger, her eyes still puffy from the tears she spilled in the car. Her blond friend, on the other hand, is completely laying down and staring at the wall in silence, empty of any emotions.

None of them have talked since what happened earlier, but there was an unspoken conversation where they silently agreed that Emma would stay with Caroline, at least for the night. That’s when the brown-haired girl receives a text message, and she takes her phone to see that it’s from Jeremy.

_Got a shitty day. How was yours?_

She smiles ironically, her fingers having a hard time to reply.

_Pretty sure I got a shittier one._

_Wow, really? What happened?_

She sighs, gaining small attention from Caroline.

_I don’t really wanna talk about it. Is it okay if I see you tomorrow?_

It doesn’t take long before he answers.

_Yeah, of course. Text me the details when you can._

She can’t help but smile sweetly despite her broken heart, her thoughts interrupted by Caroline’s mom opening the door. She notices that the woman is still in her sheriff’s uniform, her blue eyes looking between Emma and her own daughter.

“I didn’t see you two at the car wash.”

Caroline takes a moment to respond. “We left early.”

Liz Forbes turns her eyes to Emma for a second, waiting for a better explanation, but the girl only looks away.

“Are you guys okay? Anything you wanna talk about?” None of them answer her and worry settles in her eyes. “Is it a boy thing?”

Caroline turns her head towards her mother, a hard look in her eyes.

“Mom, if I wanna talk boys, I’ll call dad. At least he’s successfully dating one.”

Emma can’t help but flinch at her friend’s harshness, Liz Forbes closing her eyes from the emotional pain before she steps out of the room and closes the door.

“That was harsh, Car’.”

“I don’t care.” She looks at the ceiling and closes her eyes. “She can’t protect me from him.”

The brown-haired girl’s about to say something else when her cellphone rings, the caller being none other than her uncle Stefan.

“You should answer.” Caroline’s blue eyes stare right back at Emma. “He probably just found Zach.”

Emma nods just as the blond stands up to find two sets of pajamas for them in her closet, the brown-haired pressing the ‘answer’ button before putting the cellphone on her ear.

“I’m safe.”

* * *

“ _Thank god._ ” Stefan puts his hand on his forehead, tears on the corner of his eyes. “I just found Zach, I can’t... what happened?”

“ _Dad manipulated Car’ to free him, and Zach saved us some time to run away._ ” He hears her repress a sob. “ _He’s dead, isn’t he?_ ”

“Emma, I’m so sorry.”

“ _It’s not your fault._ ” She takes a breath in, probably to try and control her own fear. “ _But you should find him before he kills more people._ ”

The vampire looks at the woodpile in his hand. “Yeah, I’ll go do that.”

“ _I’ll stay with Car’ for the night. Call me when it’s safe to come back home?_ ”

“I will, I promise.”

He’s about to shut his cellphone when she talks again.

“ _Stefan?_ ”

“Yeah?”

“ _Be careful._ ”

He stays silent for a while before answering. “I will.”

She hangs up after that and he puts his cellphone back in his pocket before running towards the entrance. He has to find him tonight, who knows how many victims he’ll kill if don’t-

His train of thoughts gets interrupted by the vision of Elena on his porch, his girlfriend looking at him with terrified eyes.

“ **What are you?** ”

Her words almost make him drop his weapon.


	6. Season 1, Episode 6: Lost Girls

** Season 1, Episode 6: Lost Girls **

“What are you?”

Stefan stares back at Elena in silence, making the girl’s heart beating even faster than it already was.

“ **What. Are. You?** ”

The vampire feels tears prick at the corner of his eyes, a sad smile escaping his lips as he stares at her.

“You know.”

“No.” She shakes her head, not looking away from him. “I don’t-”

“Yes, you do.” He squints his eyes at her, wondering what kind of thoughts must be running through her head right. “Or you wouldn’t be here.”

She keeps shaking her head, ignoring her tears threatening to fall on her cheeks.

“It’s not possible.” She gulps her saliva with difficulty, feeling her voice coarse as she speaks. “It can’t be.”

Stefan just keeps staring at her as he puts away the wooden stick in his hand, Elena taking a step back in fear while watching his movements.

“Everything you know...” He takes a small step forward, feeling his heart sinking in his chest at the sight of her fear. “... every belief that you have is about to change. Are you ready for that?”

She takes in an angry breath, her patience running thin. “What... are you?”

He feels his bottom lip quiver in sadness from her reaction, but he controls it by stretching his lips to a wider sad smile, trying his best to find the right words to say.

“... _I’m a vampire._ ”

Elena stares at him in silence while she processes his answer, her mouth slowly opening wide in slight shock as she does so.

“I shouldn’t have come.”

Panic rises in his mind when he sees her step back. “No. No, please-”

“ _No!_ ”

She runs past him before he can even touch her arm, concentrating on getting to her car until he suddenly appears in front of her by using his speed, stopping her in her tracks. She looks at him in fear and confusion, giving the porch behind her a look to verify he’s no longer there before looking back at him.

“How did you do that!?”

He shakes his head. “Please don’t be afraid of me.”

She threatens to step back when she sees that he’s about to walk towards her. “ _Let me go._ ”

“Elena, there are things you need to know and understand-”

“ _Let me go!_ ” She screams that when he grabs her by her shoulders, and he feels compelled to let her run away from his arms and towards her car.

“Elena, please-”

He watches her get in the car with a desperate expression, but he knows better than to stop her, and so he watches her leave with a broken heart.

* * *

“Please answer. _Please_ answer.”

Elena walks past and forth in her room, trying her best to control her heavy breathing to stop an in-coming panic attack. The first thing she did when she arrived home, after verifying that her brother was safe and sound in his room, was to call her childhood and best friend Emma for some explanations, or to at least warn her about her ‘brother’ if she didn’t already know.

She just desperately needed her friend to comfort her.

“Come on, answer!”

“ _You have reached Emma Salvatore’s phone, but I’m currently unavailable. So if you could let me a message, I will try to contact as soon as I can-_ ”

“ _ **Shit.**_ ” Elena hangs up her phone, her breathing getting even harder. “Where are you, Emma!?”

“ **Elena.** ”

She screams as she turns around, her eyes opening wide when she sees Stefan standing there right in front of her. She only waits a few seconds before she runs towards her bedroom’s door, Stefan stopping her from opening it by slamming his hand against it. She closes her eyes in fear, her breathing’s so hard that it’s hurting her chest, and he tries his best to talk to her with a calm voice.

“ _I would never hurt you._ ” She gulps when she feels his breathing against her neck, his head tilting as he tries to understand her thoughts. “ _You’re safe with me._ ”

She manages to slightly turn her head back towards him, her eyes still closed.

“All those animal attacks...?” She violently turns completely towards him, her tears falling down her cheeks. “Those people who died..!?”

“No-” He shakes his head, staring right at her eyes. “-it was Damon!”

“Damon...”

He nods excessively. “Yes! I don’t drink human blood, that’s not how I choose to survive, but Damon does! I’ll explain everything to you, but I  _beg_ you, Elena... do  **not** tell anybody.”

She frowns in anger. “How can you ask me that-”

“Because you _knowing_ this is dangerous! For so many reasons!”

She stares at him in silence, all her emotions mixing into a potion of confusion as she tries to understand him.

“You can hate me...” He takes a pause, admiring her brown orbs as he thinks this might be the last time he sees them. “... but I need you to trust me.”

Her lips quiver in fear and sadness, her lungs still having difficulties to breathe properly.

“... _just go._ ” She takes a big breath in, trying to be brave. “Just go, _please._ Go. If you mean me no harm, then you’ll go.”

He feels his heart getting torn apart as he sees her cry and begging him to leave.

“I never wanted this.”

He lets his hand against the door fall back beside him, the vampire taking a step behind to let her have enough space to leave. She stares at him for a couple of seconds, still on guard, then doesn’t wait for him to say anything else before she opens her door to leave. She stops in her tracks when she feels a breeze on her neck, and she looks back in her room to see that Stefan is gone.

“God-” She stops talking and runs towards her open window, closing it and locking it to create herself some kind of protection before she puts her head against it. “-please let Emma not be a vampire.”

She would break if not.

* * *

The fire camp Vicky and her friends had lit in the cemetery leaves a warm glow on Damon’s white skin, his mouth avidly draining the blood from the last junkie he could find in here. He drops the body on the ground when he’s done, letting out a contentment sigh with the red liquid dripping from his mouth. He takes a few seconds to breathe in and out, appreciating getting back his strength, then uses the dead body’s arm to wipe away the blood from the corner of his lips.

“ _Hm._ ”

He stands up with a proud grin, grabbing one of the bodies by their legs to drag them towards the fire and drop it in it. The flames instantly seem to welcome the cadaver as it engulfs the body in less than one second, the vampire grabbing one of the bottles of alcohol and walking towards the rest of his food to soak them with the liquid. He does search them for any working cellphones, finally finding one after the third try and dialing Emma’s number with a smile.

“ _... hello?_ ”

His lips stretch out when he hears her voice. “Where are you, Pumpkin?”

She hangs up when she recognizes his voice, the dark vampire giving out a sigh before he dials her number again. A hard smile appears on his lips when he hits her message box this time, and so he hangs up and dials his brother’s number instead.

“ _Hello?_ ”

The vampire takes a sip of vodka from the bottle before answering. “I want Emma and my ring.”

Stefan doesn’t seem surprised to hear his brother’s voice. “ _Where are you?_ ”

“Somewhere.” Damon kneels and lights the tip of a stick with the help from the fire, then walks back towards the bodies to light them up. “I had a buffet. Where’s Emma?”

“ _I don’t know where she is. Where are you and what have you done?_ ”

“Noooo... what have **you** done?” The dark vampire lights the last body on fire, his grip on the phone tightening. “You’re the one who locked me in the basement, starved me and turned Emma against me, so whatever I’ve done... whatever I’ve sucked dry is on you, buddy.”

“ _You’re being careless. How many more animal' attacks the town is gonna believe, huh?_ ”

“I know how to cover my tracks, Stefan.” He feels his patience running dry. “Where’s Emma!? I need her and my ring back!”

“ _I don’t know where she is, Damon. Zach had a secret place only him and she knew about._ ” Damon’s angry expression changes to a surprised one, Stefan’s voice sounding a little more frustrating. “ _Probably shouldn’t have killed him._ ”

The dark vampire frowns in confusion, wondering what kind of place it could be, then gives out a smile and a chuckle.

“Ah... you almost got me.” He loses his smile and stares at one of the fires with a death stare. “ **Where is she?** ”

There’s a small silence where Stefan doesn’t answer for a while. “ _I’ll get her back, but I’ll need time._ ”

“What, did you send her to Rome? You only had three hours, she can’t be that far! Where is she?!” The dark vampire turns around on himself, his frustration rising inside his chest. “I want my daughter back, Stefan... or my next stop is Elena’s.”

“ _Emma and I already want you dead. Don’t give us another reason to make it happen._ ”

“ **Don’t give me another reason to rip you apart.** ”

“ _Yeah?_ ” He grinds his teeth when he hears his little brother laugh, like taunting him. “ _Is that gonna be before or after you kill Emma?_ ”

“Kill-” He frowns in confusion and anger, not believing that everyone including Emma keeps thinking he wants her dead. “... _**just get her.**_ ”

He hangs up before Stefan can add anything else, breathing through his nose to try and calm down his anger. He spots another body as he does so, a girl this time, and he lets out a frustrating sigh before he picks up the bottle of alcohol on the ground and walks towards the girl to drop the rest of the liquid on her. He stops though, because the girl just happened to cough, making him realized that she’s somehow still alive after his attack.

“ _Well, well, well..._ ” He kneels beside her, observing her face and recognizing her as the human girl he attacked more than once in the past few weeks. “ _You just don’t wanna die, do you?_ ”

She only coughs as a response, still unconscious, and he tilts his head with an idea growing inside his mind.

* * *

Caroline gets woken up by the sound of shuffling around her room, the girl squinting her eyes at the form putting clothes back in her bag with worry before she gives out a sigh.

“What are you doing awake?”

“ _I need to go._ ” The blond opens her eyes wide upon hearing her friend’s panic voice and sits up. “He’s looking for me and I don’t want you to die because of me.”

“Emma-” Caroline stands up from her bed and walks over to her friend to take her hands. “He’s gonna kill you!”

The brown-haired girl gives out a sad smile. “I have to risk it.”

“Wait, Emma-” The blond can’t stop her friend from putting her backpack on her shoulder and walk out of her room, their voices lowering down to whispers. “Please don’t do this.”

“Caroline, I’ll be fine, I promise.”

“It’s not me who I’m worried about.”

“Stefan told me about a safe place. I’m going there.” Emma opens the entrance door to walk out, giving her friend a last look. “I’ll call you.”

She runs away into the darkness before the blond can even answer.

* * *

“Emma’s not answering my phone.”

Elena stares at Stefan sitting across from her with a mean expression, the fact that they’re meeting up in bright daylight and at a public coffee shop making her feel more at ease.

“She’s in a safe place.” Stefan stares right back in her eyes, playing with his fingers in nervousness. “You can trust me.”

She takes a hard breath in, trying to not let her anger control her tone.

“Emma’s not answering her phone, and you said you would explain everything, that’s why I told you to meet me here.” He simply nods to tell her to go on, just feeling relieved that she’s giving him a chance to explain. “When you google ‘vampire’ you get a world of fiction. What’s the reality?”

“I can tell you whatever you want to know.”

Her expression changes to suspicion. “I know you eat garlic.”

“Yes.”

“And somehow, sunlight’s not an issue.”

The young vampire looks up for a second, letting Elena know that the waitress’ back with their coffees.

“Here are your drinks.” She puts them down on the table in front of them, leaving as soon as they thank her with their awkward smiles.

“We...” Stefan shows his fingers with his blue ring on it. “... have rings to protect us.”

She quirks an eyebrow at him. “Crucifixes?”

“Decorative.”

“Holy water?”

“Drinkable.”

“Mirrors?”

“Myth.”

“Emma wears a ring now. Damon’s ring.” She looks up from the ring back in his eyes, her vibe getting even more serious than before. “Is she a vampire?”

“No.” Stefan shakes his head, the brown-haired girl’s entire body relaxing from relief as soon as she hears the news. “But she has known since we-Damon... took her in.”

She squints her eyes at him in confusion. “Damon took her in?”

“Yeah, he... saved her when she was a baby, and then adopted her.” The young vampire starts to fidget with his cup of coffee, memories of that night coming back to him. “She’s the only proof he still has some humanity left in him.”

She gives out a hard smile. “You said you don’t kill to survive.”

Stefan sighs. “Animal blood keeps me alive, but I’m not as strong as Damon. He can be very powerful.”

“And yet, you let him get involved with Caroline. Heck, you let him take Emma in-”

“Forcing Damon to not do something is far more dangerous, believe me.”

She stops herself from snarling, her anger rising in her mind. “He was hurting Caroline!”

“He was _feeding_ from her.” Stefan looks away for a moment, verifying that no one else could hear him. “He was taking away her memories of being bitten using a form of mind compulsion, she never knew it was happening to her. If he wanted to kill her, he would have-”

“Is this supposed to make it _okay?_ ”

“No!” He rapidly shakes his head, panicking that he might have said something wrong. “No, none of this is okay, Elena! I know that!”

She simply stays silent as she stares at him, the vampire letting out a sigh and sitting back in his chair.

“... Are there any others aside from you and Damon?”

“Not in Mystic Falls.” He takes a few seconds to think. “Not anymore.”

She frowns in confusion. “Not anymore?”

“There was a time... when this town was...” He breathes in, trying his best to get the words out. “... very much aware of vampires... and it didn’t end well for anybody. That’s why it’s important that you don’t tell anyone.”

Her expression falters down. “I can’t promise that.”

He looks at her for a moment, then approaches his chair closer to the table.

“Elena.” He lowers his body so his whisper can be heard by her, the girl looking away in frustration. “Give me today. I will answer any questions that you have, and when it’s over, you can decide for yourself what you wanna do with what you know. It’ll be your choice.”

She looks back at him in silence, feeling conflicted by her love and hate for him. He nods at her to tell her that he’s serious about his proposition, and after battling her mind for a while, she ends up nodding in an agreement.

* * *

“Where are you, Stefan?” Damon walks rapidly around the living room in the boarding house, his cellphone against his ear. “I’m trapped at the house, and I’m getting bored and _really_ impatient. And I don’t _do_ bored and impatient!”

He puts his cellphone between his ear and his shoulder so he can serve himself a drink, desperately needing one.

“ _Bring_ me... my daughter... and my ring!”

He hangs up as soon as he finishes putting some bourbon in a glass, knowing damn well that his brother is not going to call him back soon. He gets an idea in his head, and he calls Emma’s cellphone for the twentieth time since last night.

“Pick it up, Pumpkin.” Having the ring resonates in his head as never frustrated him as much as ever before. “Let Dad hear your voice, huh?”

“ _Stop. Calling._ ”

“Pumpkin!” His lips stretch out in a huge when she answers, not bothered by her angry voice at all. “ **Finally.** I thought you were dead or something.”

“ _I’m hanging up. Stop calling._ ”

“No, wait, no-” He groans when she hangs up abruptly, looking down at his cellphone in anger. “ _Dammit!_ ”

He looks back at the living room, noticing the girl he randomly decided to spare still being unconscious on it.

“Oh, don’t get blood on the couch!” He sighs in frustration, walking over to her when he sees that the blood keeps coming out of her neck. “Please? It’s Emma’s favorite couch.”

The girl being unconscious and on the verge of the death, she doesn’t answer him, and so he sits down right beside her and observes her in silence for a while. He ends up sighing with a small smile, taking the towel away from her neck to see the bite he gave to her.

“I got you good, didn’t I?” She lets out a hum as he puts the towel back, standing back and watching her with a frown as he thinks. “Well, you’re not gonna be any fun today.”

He drinks his whole bourbon in one gulp, the boredom agonizing him like he’s having a dangerous sickness. He looks back at the girl for a few seconds, then stands up.

“I’m so gonna regret this.” He bites his wrist open so blood can flood out, then gently puts it against her mouth. “Okay... Okay, drink up. Drink it up-don’t drip.”

He looks away in boredom while she avidly drinks, her hands grabbing his arm so she can take more while she’s still somehow sleeping.

“Here you go, good girl.” He looks down at her for a small moment, her brown hair reminding him of Emma’s, then he puts his head on top of hers with a small smile. “Good girl...”

* * *

“ **Stop here.** ”

Elena turns down the engine of her car beside the rest of some old house’s foundations, the vegetation in the forest having taken over almost everything that’s left. He gets out of the car before her, slowly walking towards the entrance gate in bricks while Elena steps out of her car and sends him a confused look.

“What are we doing here?”

He looks back at her with a smile. “Let me show you something.”

He continues his walk before she can say anything, the brown-haired girl looking in fear now that they’re no longer in a public place. “In the middle of nowhere?”

“This...” He stops in his tracks, turning back to her with a comforting smile. “... didn’t use to be nowhere. It used to be my home.”

She blinks in surprise, not having expected that kind of answer, then she closes her door and walks over to him, the vampire still looking at the ruins with a light heart.

“It looks so...”

He turns his head at her, his lips stretching out when he sees her confusion. “... old? It’s because they are.”

She seems to realize something, looking back in between him and the ruins for a while. “Wait, how long have you...”

His smile falters for a second, having already expected that silent question.

“I’ve been seventeen years old since 1864.”

She looks at him in silence, unable to say anything due to the shock until she looks down at the ground. “Oh my god...”

“You said you wanted to know...” She looks back at him, trying to process everything. “I’m not gonna hold anything back.”

“ _And you shouldn’t._ ” Elena slightly screams when Emma comes out from behind a pillar, her arms crossed over her chest. “She deserves the whole truth.”

“Emma...!” Elena doesn’t wait to run over to her friend and hug her as tight as possible, tears almost dropping out of the corner of her eyes. “You’re safe...!”

“Hey...” Emma smiles sadly as he hugs her back. “Sorry for not answering your phone calls...”

“It’s fine, it’s fine-” The young girl parts away and gives out a smile. “Why-Why are you here?”

“She’s hiding from Damon.” Stefan puts his hands in his jean’s pocket, tilting his head at his niece. “He doesn’t think she knows about this place.”

“I’ve known for years, just in case I needed to-.” Emma stops her own words and takes Elena’s hands in hers, squeezing them for comfort. “Anyway, you should listen to what Stefan has to say.”

“I-” Elena suddenly only wants to ask her friend if she’s okay, but by the simple look of Emma’s expression, she knows better than to ask. “Alright...”

She turns back towards Stefan, who has patiently been waiting for her to be ready to hear him out.

“Go ahead.”

“Half a century ago, before the boarding house was even built... this was my family’s home.” He starts walking deeper into the site, both girls soon following him as he talks. “Damon and I... we were both born here. The Salvatore brothers... best friends.”

“Until you met Katherine...” Emma’s words stop Stefan in his tracks, the vampire looking at the ground in silence. “... right?”

He slowly looks up at her, a sad smile on his lips. “Yes.”

“Wait-” Elena frowns in confusion. “You knew Katherine... in 1864? Damon made it seemed like-”

“Damon was trying to make you think that I was still heartbroken.” Stefan takes a step forward before turning back towards his girlfriend, Emma crossing her arms over her chest as he talks. “He saw that I was happy with you... and that I was spending time with Emma... and he wanted to ruin it.”

“That sounds like dad.”

“And all of this only because you loved the same woman... what, a hundred and forty-five years ago?”

His lips stretch out for a moment, and he slightly shakes his head. “She wasn’t... just any girl.”

“A very charismatic woman, as I’ve heard, who also liked people competing for her attention.” Emma raises a finger, walking around a little. “From what dad told me, she once made you both asked her to the Fundraisers’ ball.”

“And she chose me.” Elena follows Emma to an old bench, the last girl having sat down on it from tiredness. “I escorted her to the ball like the original Lockwood mentioned.”

Elena stops in her tracks and turns back at him in realization. “The first fundraisers' party... where you signed the registry.”

Emma gives her friend a finger gun. “Bingo.”

“I didn’t care that I got something that my brother wanted. I didn’t even care if it hurt him.” Stefan squints his eyes as he remembers, both girls staring at him in silence. “I only knew... that I wanted her.”

Elena nods in understanding, sitting down beside Emma on the bench. “So he was upset.”

Emma snorts. “Oh no. Not at all”

“That’s the thing about Damon... he doesn’t get mad.” His eyes turn to his niece, both sharing a knowing look. “... he gets even.”

A ring tone makes the girls jump up, Emma looking at her cellphone only to see that her dad’s calling again.

* * *

When his daughter doesn’t answer his phone call  _again,_ Damon hangs up without even making a complaint about it, ending up staring at the wall in silence with a neutral expression.

“Oh, _man._ ” Vicky walks down the stairs wearing only a shirt and her underwear, using a towel to dry her hair. “That shower was _so_ good.”

The dark vampire doesn’t even react at her words, still staring at the wall as he thinks about where his daughter might be. He knows she’s safe, and if she can answer his calls she’s probably not that far either, but gosh, he hates that she seems to believe he wants to kill-

“What did you get me?”

Vicky’s question brings him out of his thoughts, the girl being confused as to why she no longer has a bite mark on her neck.

“Some blood. You _loved_ it.”

She slowly walks over to him, still confused. “I did?”

He simply nods, then looks at her without changing his expression.

“Wait, I’m confused... how did I get here?”

She stands in front of him, putting away a strand of hair behind her head while waiting for an explanation. He internally sighs, already annoyed by her, and he deeply stares into her eyes while using his compulsion.

“We met in the woods. You were drunk, I attacked you, then I killed all of your friends and brought you here. I gave you some blood-” He gives out a small smirk. “-and you _loved_ it. And now, we’re gonna party until the sun goes down.”

_And then I’ll get my daughter back._

“Okay! Oh, but first...” She tilts her head, biting her lip. “... can I get another... hit? That blood was so good.”

His lips stretch out, almost letting out a dark chuckle. “Only if I can.”

She gives him her arm without even thinking, her smile still present on her face, and he doesn’t wait to rip apart his wrist and give it to her before he starts to drink from hers.

* * *

Emma shuts down her cellphone so that her dad can no longer contact her, at least for now, then looks back up at Stefan and Elena.

“He keeps calling me.”

Elena uncrosses her arms from her chest. “Have you answered?”

“Two times, but only for a few seconds each.” She breathes in sharply, then slowly breathes out as she turns towards her uncle. “He wants me back home, doesn’t?”

Stefan puts his hands in his jean’s pocket, slowly opening his mouth. “What Damon wants... Damon usually gets.”

Emma sighs, closing her eyes while he continues to talk.

“Trust me, Em’. I learned the hard way.”

“I know, Stefan.” The brown-haired girl looks at her friend sitting beside her. “Katherine also spent the night with Damon at the party.”

“So...” She squints her eyes, looking between the two for more explanation. “... he stole her from you...? Not the other way around?”

Stefan slowly smiles. “Turns out, she wasn’t ours to steal.”

Elena seems even more confused, Emma tilting her head at her.

“She was a vampire.”

That answer seems to make the girl understand how Stefan and Damon got transformed, the young vampire continuing to talk before she can ask anything.

“She could control my mind and Damon’s. And she compelled each of us to keep the secret from each other. She...” He takes a small pause, the memories flashing through his eyes. “...wanted us to be all happy together... forever.”

Elena looks away as she tries to take it all in.

“Didn’t work out that way, but... Damon and I... it looks like we’re stuck with each other. Like it or not.” He approaches his niece, giving her his hand expectantly. “That ring’s no longer safe with you, Emma.”

The girl sighs, taking off the ring reluctantly and giving it back to Stefan. “You’re gonna give it back to him, right?”

“I don’t want to, but...” He takes a sharp breath in. “... we have no choice.”

“No!” Elena stands up, afraid for her friend. “Don’t, Stefan. Keep it hidden!”

“Elena, if I don’t give it to him, he’ll retaliate the only way he knows he can hurt me.” His eyes move to his niece. “... the only way he knows he can hurt Em’.”

The green-eyed girl’s body stiffens in fear, already knowing where he’s getting at, while Elena scoffs in disbelief.

“And what is that?”

“... by hurting you.”

She seems to be taken aback by his answer. “... what?”

“Which is why...” He turns to his niece again, helping stand up from the bench. “... _you_ need to go back to him as well.”

“No-” She instantly shakes her head, remembering the look in her dad’s eyes when he tried to grab her and Caroline yesterday. “No, no, no-he’s gonna kill me!”

“ _Shh,_ no, he won’t...” He puts his hands on each side of her head, trying to comfort her. “Emma, you know he loves you too much for-”

“That won’t stop him.” She continues to shake her head, tears appearing in the corner of her eyes. “You know that won’t stop him-”

“We don’t have a choice-”

“I agree with Emma.” Elena’s voice seems to stop their argument, the brown-haired girl looking at them with a worried expression. “There has to be another way.”

Stefan stays silent for a while, opening his mouth and closing it a couple of times.

“I’m afraid there’s not.”

* * *

“ _I am so over Tyler!_ ” Damon finishes gulping a huge sip of vodka, his eyes turning to Vicky complaining and trying to dance on the loud music he put on. “ _I’m_ _ **so**_ _over him!_ And I _knew_ from the beginning that I was only a piece of ass to him but I thought that maybe if he got to know me better, then he might see me as something more.... but no!”

She runs back in the middle of the room, a smile creeping up on her lips.

“Now, Jeremy, on the other hand, he sees me as a real person-” The name makes the vampire give her more attention, his eyebrows frowning in thought as she lets herself fall on the ground. “-and I _like_ that!”

“Jeremy, huh?” Damon slowly walks over to her, a little tipsy because of how much alcohol he drank. “... Emma’s boyfriend?”

She slightly loses her smile. “Yeah, but...” She regains it, standing back up. “But not for long! Because Elena used to date my brother, and they were always together, so Jeremy would always be around and crushing all over me, so I know he’ll ditch her for me soon-”

His upper lip flinches upon hearing her, a fit of anger rising inside his chest that he tries to control.

“Hey-” She turns to him, giving out a few giggles as she talks. “-why don’t you have a girlfriend? You’re like... totally cool and _so_ hot.”

He rolls his eyes in annoyance, walking past her. “I know.”

“Don’t you wanna be in love?”

“I’ve been in love.” He puts the bottle of vodka down on the table behind the couch, turning back to her with his arms open so he can grab her. “Painful, pointless and overrated.”

He starts making her dance, imagining all the painful ways he could kill her for not only having hurt his daughter in the past but also wanting to hurt her in a close future.

“Except...” She holds onto his hand and runs around the room with him. “... when it isn’t!”

“No more talking!” He can’t think when she keeps talking to him about love, making him remember Katherine. “Let’s dance!”

And so they dance together as much as they can, both to forget the pain they keep feeling inside and to try to have some fun for once. Luckily for them, most of the songs playing were upbeat and fun, until they end up with a slow song and, kind of tired of dancing all day, they decided to slow dance together while holding each other close. Damon keeps his eyes close the whole time, imagining holding Katherine after almost an eternity.

“My mother spends most of her time in Virginia beach with Pete.” He opens his eyes in annoyance when he hears her voice cracks from crying, his hands slowly caressing her hair in a fake comforting manner. “He drives trucks... I don’t remember my dad, but from what I gathered, he’s not worth remembering.”

“Your life is so... upsetting.”

“Yeah-I mean, I’m the screwed up one.” He notices a slight tone of anger, her arms tightening their grip around him. “Matt’s got it so easy, he’s the golden boy. I mean, he’s gonna get a football scholarship, marry Elena and... have long mourns and babies and...”

She slowly parts to look into his eyes, the vampire pushing strands of hair out of her messy face.

“When I think about my future I just come up blank.”

“You are so damaged.”

She slowly nods. “... _yep._ ”

“You have not one hint of self-esteem.”

She shakes her while he observes her expression. “Nope... none.”

He puts his forehead against hers, then sighs.

“I think I know what can help you.”

“What’s that?” 

She gives out a sad smile, waiting for any kind of hope at this point, and he gives out a grin.

“ _ **Death.**_ ”

He snaps her neck in one rapid movement, Vicky immediately dying and falling unto the ground with a loud thud. Damon replaces his shirt around his neck, sighing in relief now that he finally no longer hears her complain about her very sad life before he walks over her dead body to go towards his desk. A cellphone ringing stops him in his tracks, his eyebrows frowning in confusion until he takes it out of his jean’s pocket, a huge smile stretching out of his lips when he sees the caller ID.

“Pumpkin!” His voice is full of joy when he answers, happy to know that his daughter’s the one calling him this time. “Where are you? When are you coming back to me?”

There’s just silence from the other end for a while, then he hears her take a sharp breath in.

“ _If I come back, I want you to promise me something._ ”

His grin doesn’t falter at her words. “Of course! What do you want?”

“ _You can’t get involved with the people I know._ ” He quirks an eyebrow at that, waiting for her to elaborate. “ _That means not dating my friends, not sucking their blood, not threatening to kill them, and_ _ **not**_ _kill them._ ”

“Is this about how I threaten to go to Elena’s house? Honey, that was for Stefan, not for you-”

“ _This is about how you treated Caroline, dad. And how you almost killed Vicky multiple times already. If you’re still gonna do these things even if I come back, then I prefer to never see you again._ ”

He loses his smile and almost groans, his eyes looking down at the dead body in the middle of his room.

“ _ **Fine.**_ ” An evil grin breaks out of his skin. “But it might be too late for not killing them part.”

It takes a few seconds of processing before the panic rises in her voice. “ _What do you mean?_ ”

“You know.... just snapped Vicky’s neck. Don’t worry though, she won’t be dead for long.”

“ _Dad... what have you done?_ ” His smile seems to stretch out upon hearing her question. “ _What did you do?!_ ”

“You know what I did, Pumpkin.” He almost chuckles when he sees Vicky starting to wake up, his daughter already panicking on the other side of the phone. “See you soon.”

He hangs up before she can add anything else, the eighteen-year-old girl on his floor slowly sitting up while holding her neck, also coughing in pain.

“What happened..?” She closes her eyes as she tries to recover her last moments. “We were dancing and then-”

“I killed you.”

She frowns in confusion, not sure to have heard correctly due to the pain.”...what...?”

“You’re dead.”

She opens her eyes, still confused. “I’m... dead...”

“Yeah, well. Let’s not make a big deal out of it.” Damon sits on his desk with his arms crossed over his chest, not bothered by her confusion as he goes on to explain what’s happening to her. “You drank my blood, I killed you and now you have to feed in order to complete the process.”

“You’re wasted...”

She manages to stand up while groaning in pain, starting to grab her clothes scattered around the room, and she puts them on her shoulder while she walks towards the room’s exit.

“You don’t wanna be out there on your own.” He uses his speed to appear in front of her, the girl being too out of it to even noticed that he’s not human. “You’re about to get _really_ freaky.”

She looks behind her and back at him in confusion, putting his teleportation to the fact that she’s probably on drugs right now.

“Okay... I had a really good time, I just wanna go home...”

“You _will_ start craving blood and until you get it, you’re gonna feel very out of it.” His grin turns to a playful one. “You have to be careful.”

“Come on, move!” She hits him in the chest, slightly pushing him out of her way, then walks past him not without hitting him a second time. He lets out a laugh, amused by her reaction.

“See, you’re already starting to fall apart-”

“And I’m going home, now!”

“Okay!” He puts his hands in the air, not caring about what will happen to her. “Fine. I’m just warning you... actually, you know what? You should go?”

She turns back to him with an even more confused expression, his smile not disappearing from his face.

“In fact, if I were you, I would stop by Emma’s boyfriend Jeremy’s house... huh?”

She gives out a sight while leaving the room. “Yeah, whatever. Bye.”

“Tell Elena I said hi.” He gets a flash in his mind and his voice rises so she can hear him. “And if you see Emma, tell her I’m waiting for her!”

What he’s hoping is that Vicky will destroy Emma’s trust in Jeremy.

Then he’ll be the only one she will truly count on.

* * *

“ _I’m coming!_ ” Desperate ringings from the doorbell push Jeremy to jump out of his bed in worry, the boy soon running down the stairs and towards the door that he immediately opens to reveal Vicky wearing sunglasses. “... hey, I-”

“ _Ugh,_ the sun is killing me.” She walks in while holding her head, not waiting for him to invite her in. “My eyes are on fire!”

In frowns in worry and closes the door before standing in front of her. “Where have you been? Are you okay?”

She puts her hand away to look at him, and a bright smile appears on her face.

“It’s good.” She grabs his head without even thinking. “Everything’s good-”

“Woah-” He steps back from her just as she’s about to kiss him, the boy now feeling pretty freaked out. “Vicky, I’m sorry if you got the wrong message, but-”

“I’m hungry.” Ignoring the pain rising inside her heart from the rejection, she rapidly walks towards the kitchen. “What do you got to eat?”

He tries to follow her pace, only arriving in the room when she had already opened the fridge and started angrily pouring its content out on the counter. He sighs, realizing that she must be high on drugs, and shakes his head in disappointment at her.

“You’re high, Vicky? It’s the middle of the day-”

“ _Could you not talk so loud!?_ ” She holds her head, almost snarling at him before she continues to take food out of the fridge. “My head hurts! I need quiet!”

He slowly nods as he stays silent, knowing that it’s better to not enrage her, especially if she’s on drugs, and so he lets her eat in peace.

* * *

After her phone call with her dad, Emma was to upset to stay out in the open, and so she went on and has been waiting in the backseat of Elena’s car for a while now. It’s only a couple of minutes later that Stefan opens the driver’s door open for his girlfriend, the brown-haired girl turning to the vampire with one last question in her head.

“The mind control... that Katherine used?” He nods to tell her that she can go on. “Did you ever did that to me?”

“No..” He shakes his head at her, then points at the necklace he gave her that is still around her neck. “That necklace contains an herb called vervain... It protects you from being compelled.”

Elena tilts her head at him, a storyline getting formed in her head.

“I wanted to... protect you from Damon’s influence.” She gives out a slight smile upon hearing that, finding it kind of sweet. “But I also wanted to... protect you from me.”

She slowly loses her smile, wondering if he thinks he’s too dangerous to be around her.

“Elena, you should never take that necklace off.” His words seem to confirm her thoughts as she stays silent. “Because no matter what happens after today, no matter how you feel about me... you’ll know that you’re free to make your own choice.”

She slowly nods in understanding but opens her mouth before he can walk towards the passenger’s seat.

“What about Emma?”

“Damon... used compelling on her when she was a child...” Stefan gives his niece a look, the girl not bothered that he’s explaining her story. “She saw some traumatizing things, and he wanted to protect her from that.”

“And now? Can you and he still use your compelling?”

“No, she...” He sighs, giving out a small smile. “She drinks vervain daily, so no one can control her mind.”

Elena looks at her friend, who has put her head against the car’s window with her eyes closed to try and calm down her panic inside her chest.

At least both of them were somewhat protected... right?

* * *

Jeremy opens the door to a desperate Matt, the blond barging in the room with wide-opened eyes and heavy breathing.

“Where is she?”

Jeremy closes the door before he walks towards the kitchen. “Come this way-”

Matt blinks in surprise when he sees how much half-eaten plates are spread around the room, his older sister sitting down in a dark corner with her sunglasses still on while she’s drinking coke.

“What is she on?”

Jeremy opens and closes his mouth for a while. “I-I don’t know.”

Matt doesn’t seem to be bothered by his lack of response as he slowly walks towards his sister, kneeling in front of her with a sweet expression and gently taking her sunglasses off.

“Hey, Vic’...” He notices the tears falling down her tired eyes. “How are you doing?”

“Not good, Matty.” Her bottom lip quiver from pain, trying her best to let in the tears. “It hurts.”

“Okay, where does it hurts?”

She slowly touches the inside of her mouth. “My teeth, my gums, my-my whole jaw hurts, my gums, my-there’s something in my gums and it hurts-”

He nods at her, approaching his hand to shoulders, but he stops when she flinches.

“No, just leave me alone!”

“Come on, Vic’, don’t be like that.” He tries to touch her again, the girl trying to massage her jaw. “Let’s get you home-”

“ _Just turn it off!_ ”

Matt turns towards Jeremy, the boy looking at Vicky in annoyance. “Turn what off?!”

“ _The talking!_ ” She pushes Matt away as she stands up, walking towards the living room while screaming. “ _The shatter, just turn it off!_ ”

She stops in her tracks when she sees what’s on the news, Jeremy and Matt’s expression changing to horrified ones when they follow her into the room. The Gilbert boy doesn’t wait to grab the remote control and turn up the volume so they can properly hear what is being said.

“ _Three bodies were found dead in what appears to be a drug deal gone wry. The bodies have yet to be identified... they were discovered earlier today over at the old Mystic Falls cemetery-_ ”

Jeremy’s eyes widen in realization. “That’s where we were last night!”

“What happened, Vic’?” Upon having no response from his sister, Matt turns around to go and get the phone. “I’m calling the police-”

“ _No!_ ” She grabs his arm before he can go, Jeremy walking back towards them. “ _Don’t!_ ”

“What happened after I left last night, Vic-”

He gets interrupted by her pushing unto the ground, the boy hitting the back of the sofa hard.

“Jer’!” Matt approaches the Gilbert boy without even thinking, touching his shoulder. “Are you okay-”

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Jeremy moves his shoulder so that the blond no longer touches him, sending him a frustrated look. “I’m fine!”

Matt is not bothered by his tone and turns to his sister with a hard look. “Damn, Vic’.”

That’s when Elena, Stefan, and Emma walk into the house, the three of them frowning in confusion upon seeing the scene.

“What’s going on?”

Matt gives his ex-girlfriend a shrug before he looks back at his sister. “She’s really messed up.”

“Oh my gosh, Jay-” Emma sits down beside her boyfriend and holds his head between her hands, looking at him in worry. “You’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine-” He seems to relax under her touch, putting his own hands on top of hers and caressing them with his thumb. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Elena, back up-” They all look back to see Stefan pulling the brown-haired girl away from Vicky, the young vampire touching the side of her face gently as he looks into her eyes. “Vicky, look at me... focus.”

She manages to calm down her whimpers, his eyes making her feel at peace.

“You’re gonna be fine.” She slightly nods, starting to believe him. “Everything’s gonna be fine.”

Emma, suddenly realizing what her father has done to Vicky, helps her boyfriend get back up on his feet, and her uncle sends her a knowing look before he talks to everyone.

“Guys, take her up to a bed and shut the blinds... she’s gonna be fine.”

Matt doesn’t wait to take his sister’s by her shoulders and gently taking her towards the stairs, Emma and Jeremy soon following. Stefan stops his niece before she can start climbing up, his eyes never been looking so serious before.

“ _I know_.”

That’s all she answers before disappearing upstairs, letting the vampire explain to Elena that Vicky will have to choose her destiny.

Become a vampire... or die.

* * *

Emma wipes away the sweat from Vicky’s forehead with a wet washcloth, the girl holding onto a warm blanket around her form while Jeremy pats her back in a comforting manner.

“I’m sorry...” Emma looks down at the eighteen-year-old girl when she speaks, her eyes full of tears. “I’m so much trouble-”

“Hey-” You kneel to be at her level, your hand on her arms. “Don’t say that. None of this is your fault, okay?”

She slowly nods, not quite believing the brown-haired girl.

“Look, you just...” Jeremy tries to find the right words as she puts her attention to him. “You need to sleep it off, okay?”

“I’ll get you another washcloth.”

Vicky gives out a smile before Emma leaves the room. “Thank you.”

Emma smiles at her back, then disappears into the hallway. Jeremy stands up to do the same, wanting to let Vicky have some sleep, but the girl grabs his arm before he can go. He looks back at her, worried, and he sees from her expression that she still needs some comfort.

So he sits back beside her and holds her close to him, unaware of Matt standing at the entrance. The blond gives out a small smile at the sight, happy that his sister has at least some good people in her life, then he leaves as to not disturb the moment.

Emma comes back a few seconds later to see them cuddling just like lovers would do, and even though she knows Jeremy’s only doing this as a friend, she can’t help but feel her heart squeeze in pain at the sight. She silently walks out of the room and stands against the wall, her breathing getting harder while she tries her best to hide her tears. This is nothing. This is absolutely nothing.

Then why does it hurts so much?

“ _No!_ ” The door suddenly opens wide as Vicky bursts out, the girl running past Emma without noticing her. The brown-haired girl doesn’t wait to follow her downstairs, knowing how much there’s at stake if she doesn’t stop her.

“Vic’, stop!”

The eighteen-year-old girl doesn’t listen to Emma’s scream as she continues to run down the stairs, gaining the attention of her brother.

“Vic’.” His eyes go wide when she runs out of the house, and he and Emma follow her as fast as they can. “Vicky-”

They both step out and stare at an empty road in confusion, hearing the heavy steps of Elena, Stefan and Jeremy getting on the porch behind them.

“She was fine and then she just-” Jeremy’s voice gains everyone attention, Emma trying her best to not look at him. “-She just freaked out!”

“I’m gonna go look for her-” Matt gives everyone a last look before he starts running in the street. “-Call me if you hear anything!”

Stefan looks at Elena and his niece. “I can track her.”

“Go!” He does as Elena says, not waiting for his niece’s response.

“Can I...” Emma takes a breath in, juggling her options between going back to her dad or staying here and facing her jealous emotions. “... stay here? For now?”

Elena takes her friend’s hand and squeezes it without even thinking.

And that’s all Emma needs.

* * *

“Maybe we should check in with Matt.”

Elena puts some of the dirty dishes in Jeremy’s hands, Emma staying in a corner in silence.

“He’ll call when he finds her.”

Jeremy scoffs after putting the dishes in the sink, kneeling to take an old Chinese box takeout off the ground.

“What are we supposed to do?”

“We wait.” Emma stares blankly at the ground, her voice sounding dull. “We’re supposed to wait.”

Jeremy gives her girlfriend a long look, his expression faltering down upon seeing her.

“Emma-”

The girl leaves the room before he can add something else, the boy looking at her leaving form without having a clue about why she’s so distant. He looks at his sister, who’s still cleaning up the mess Vicky made in their kitchen.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with her.”

Elena looks back at her brother in silence, wondering if he’s asking about Vicky or Emma.

“She’ll be fine.” She turns away to pick up another dish from the table, Jeremy looking away with a frustrated look. “We’ll all be fine.”

The doorbell ringing stops them in the middle of their actions, the two Gilbert walking towards the entrance door in other to open it and reveal who’s on the other side. Elena immediately gasps in fear when she sees Damon, trying her best to close the door back on him without any success.

She hasn’t noticed the sun going down.

She stares angrily at the dark vampire, who’s nonchalantly pressing his side against the doorway, a small smile settled on his lips.

“ _ **Jeremy, go upstairs.**_ ”

The boy Gilbert frowns in confusion but listens to her sister anyway. Damon tilts his head at the brown-haired girl, wondering why she seems so scared of him.

“You’re afraid of me!” Elena stays silent, and his grin stretches out. “I’m gonna go on a limp here and take a guess... Stefan finally confessed stuff!”

“ _ **Stay away from me-**_ ”

“Hey, hey, hey- there’s no need to be rude. I’m just looking for Pumpkin.” Elena tenses up, her eyes slightly looking beside her and giving away that his daughter is indeed inside her house. “May I come in? Oh, wait- of course, I can.”

He gives out a chuckle, taking a step in.

“ _I’ve been invited._ ”

Elena walks back while he walks in, not taking her eyes away from as he closes the door behind him. The dark vampire soon takes a look around the entrance’s hallway, trying to see or hear anything that can help him know where she is exactly... but all he can hear is Elena’s heavy breathing right next to him.

“We can cut to the chase if you want, I’m not gonna kill you right now.” He looks back at her almost annoyed, crossing his arms over his chest. “That wouldn’t serve my grander agenda.”

She just stays silent, and he slowly loses his smile.

“So...” His eyes seem to darken as he keeps looking at her. “ _ **Where’s my daughter?**_ ”

She gives out a hard smile. “I’m not gonna tell you.”

“Alright... I’ll find her anyway.” He uncrosses his arms. “What about Stefan?”

She scoffs. “He’s out trying to find Vicky.”

“Don’t look with those judgy little eyes.” She takes a step back when he walks closer to her, the atmosphere around him almost suffocating her. “The girl’s gonna thank me for what I did to her... and let’s face it, she deserved it. Do you know how much she hurt my Pumpkin?”

Elena just looks at him in anger. “... did you thank Katherine?”

“Hm...” He seems surprised by her words as he walks away from her, turning his back to look around the living room. “Got the whole story, huh?”

She takes a sharp breath in. “I got enough.”

“Oh, I _doubt_ that.” His choice of words make her frown in confusion, but she jumps up in fear when he suddenly claps his hands. “ _Come on, Pumpkin! We’re going!_ ”

“She’s not going with you.”

“You wanna bet?” He gives the brown-haired girl a grin before he walks further in the living room. “Emmaaaaaa....! Don’t make me angry!”

“Stop screaming.” Emma steps down the stairs behind Elena with the bag she’s been carrying for two days on her shoulder, her expression unreadable. “I’m right here.”

“Aaaah, there you are.” He puts his hand on each side of her face while smiling wildly at her, totally ignoring the fact that she doesn’t seem to wanna be in his presence. “We’re finally back together... did you really think Stefan could separate us?”

She doesn’t answer and he just sighs, giving Elena a last look before he puts his hand behind his daughter’s back to show her the way.

“Alright, let’s go.” He opens the door for Emma, letting her go outside first before following her. “Oh!”

He re-opens the door to stick his head inside, giving Elena a huge grin.

“Tip for later... be careful of who you invite in the house.”

Elena can only watch him go with her childhood best friend, not able to save her from him.

* * *

“Vicky?”

The eighteen-year-old girl looks up at Stefan, tears continuing to fall down her face while the young vampire slowly walks over to her in the middle of the cemetery.

“I’m starting to remember things.. what he is, what he said.” She squints her eyes at him. “I remember you at the hospital, on the rooftop, it’s all coming back.”

“ _I’m so sorry..._ ” Stefan slowly shakes his head, not looking away from her. “Damon had no right to do this to you.”

She takes a sharp breath in, looking at him in worry. “He said that I need to feed... what will happen if I don’t?”

“You’ll fade quickly...” Vicky’s bottom lip quiver in fear, Stefan not having the force to explain what will happen next. “... and... it will all just be over.”

She slowly nods in understanding, trying to let in the rest of her tears. “I’ll be dead.”

Stefan nods to confirm what she said, and she looks away to try and compose herself. He sits down beside her on the ground, the girl’s breathing getting louder and louder.

“ _I... I don’t want this!_ ”

“I know.” Stefan puts his hand on her arm, trying to comfort her. “It’ ll be okay. You’re gonna be okay. I can help you.”

She looks down at the ground for a moment, then looks back into his eyes. “ _Is it better...?_ ”

He seems to be at lost of words, and she feels the need to say it a little louder.

“Is it better? Will I be better?”

When he stays silent and looks at the ground, unable to give her the answer she wants, she knows that this is the end for her, and so she continues to cry even harder than before.

“ _I wanna go home..._ ” Stefan’s eyes sadden at her cracking voice. “ _Will you take me home...?_ ”

He instantly nods, the girl whispering a thank you as he stands up. He hands her his hand to help her back up, but she only has the time to touch his palm before a gunshot is heard.

And Stefan falls on the ground, blood pouring out of his chest. The young vampire groans in pain, trying to move without any success, and Vicky stands up and takes a step back when someone with a gun in their hands walks over. She recognizes the man as the news guy she saw on the TV earlier today, the journalist stopping beside Stefan as he puts away his gun. He kneels with bloodshot opened eyes, pressing the wooden bullet inside the vampire’s chest by using the stake the sheriff gave him to kill vampires. He rises the stake in the air, about to plunge it inside Stefan’s chest despite Vicky screaming for him to stop-

-but it’s Damon who stops him, the dark vampire jumping on the man and diving his teeth into his neck to drink as much blood as he can from him. When he thinks he has taken enough blood, he drops the journalist on the ground beside without any second thought, then he uses his fingers to take out the wooden bullet inside his brother’s chest.

“Is he okay?” Emma suddenly arrives at the scene, her expression showing more than worry. “Is Unkie gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine-” Damon looks down at the bullet in his hand, recognizing the material. “It’s wood... they know.”

Emma lets out a long sigh as she grabs her hair, trying to process the fact that people in her town knows her family is full of vampires. Stefan closes his eyes in pain while Damon wipes away the blood from his mouth, the dark vampire smiling wildly at his brother.

“If anyone’s gonna kill you, it’s gonna be me.” He ignores his brother’s hatred look and shows him his hand. “I know you have my ring.”

Stefan looks away in frustration for a moment, putting his hand inside his jean’s pocket before he gets out the old blue ring Damon has always wear. The dark vampire grabs it and puts it on his middle finger with a huge smile, his lips stretching in contentment upon seeing it back into its place.

“Emma-” Stefan’s eyes widen when he sees Vicky drinking blood from the journalist, scared for his niece. “Emma-”

Damon looks up and runs in front of his daughter in less than one second, eyeing the eighteen-year-old girl suspiciously with a threatening expression.

“Vicky... no!” Emma hides her mouth behind her hands, the vision of the girl looking back at her with a mouth full of blood making her heart sink. “Why....”

“I’m sorry...” She looks at Emma for a second before looking back at Stefan, feeling his disappointment. “I’m sorry...!”

She stands up and runs away before anyone else can say anything, Damon’s shoulders relaxing in relief.

“Oops.” He turns towards his daughter, putting his hands on her shoulders. “You’re okay, Pumpkin?”

“Yeah...” She gives him a hard look, suppressing her emotions inside. “We should go.”

“You learn so fast.” He gives out a huge grin, slightly patting her head despite her face scrunching up in annoyance. “I’m so proud of you, Pumpkin.”

“Shut up.” She steps away from him and helps her uncle to stand up, the young vampire holding on to her the best he can as to not to fall. “Let’s just go.”

Damon chuckles and starts following them, but stops in his tracks once he notices something shining on the ground. He picks it up, realizing that it’s a very old watch, and puts it in his pocket before continuing his route so he can check it out later.

He got his daughter back.... and that’s all that mattered to him for now.


	7. Season 1, Episode 7: Haunted

** Season 1, Episode 7: Haunted **

“Alright.” Tyler waves at one of his teammates before he walks away. “Later man.”

“See you, bro.”

The young man gives out a small smile as he shakes his head, then walks where he left his car in the school’s parking lot before he went to practice. He gets out his keys from his pocket but stops in his tracks just as he’s about two meters away from it, having heard a weird sound around. He suddenly feels unsafe in this rather empty parking lot, but she shuts down his fear and goes to open his car’s trunk so he can put his sports bag in it. He then closes it and walks in front of its car’s front door, the jock soon unlocking it and sitting inside with the intention to go home.

“ _ **Hi, Ty.**_ ”

“ _Woah!_ ” Tyler snaps his head to the passenger seat in panic, but he stops himself from running out of the car once he recognizes the girl beside him. “Vicky...?”

She doesn’t respond and keeps breathing loud, the boy blinking in confusion.

“Everyone’s looking for you.”

“I know.”

His body slowly relaxes, his eyes worrying. “What’s wrong, Vic’?”

“ _I’m so cold._ ”

Tyler rolls his eyes. “Are you on drugs? Everyone thinks you’re off on a bender.”

Vicky lets out a shaky laugh. “I wish...”

Those words seem to bring back Tyler’s worried in one second.

“What happened into those woods, Vicky? Those kids that were killed?” He tries to look into her eyes, her hair hiding her face completely. “What did you see?”

She slowly raises her head, then turns it towards him, revealing her crying face. “ _I’m so scared!_ ”

“Come here-” Tyler wraps his arms around her shoulders and brings her closer to him, trying to comfort her. “It’s okay, I’ll take you home.”

She frees himself from him, still breathing loud, then stares at him with a hard expression.

“ _ **I can’t control it...**_ ”

Tyler frowns in confusion. “Control what?”

“I am so...” She takes a pause, inhaling his scent. “... **hungry** , Ty... and it won’t go away...”

The young man feels the annoyance take control of his heart. “What are you on? What drugs did you take-”

He gets interrupted by her hands grabbing his head, her mouth suddenly touching his ear.

“ _I want it..._ ” She moves her mouth down to his neck, her breathing getting faster and louder. “ _I’m so hungry, Ty._ ”

He feels his stomach starting to twist both from fear and worry, his instincts telling him to run.

“Okay, look, I’ll get you something to eat. Just-” He slowly pushes her back away from him, not wanting to anger her. “-sit back. Let’s just get you home-”

He screams when her whole face suddenly changes, her eyes going black and her teeth growing sharp.

“Vicky! What is wrong with you!?” He opens the door behind him, somehow crawling back away from her and out of her car. “Vic’!”

His heart drops when she jumps on top of him and growls like a hungry animal, her legs somehow trapping on the cement ground. He tries to get out of her grip, without any success, and he believes that she’s going to kill him when someone suddenly takes her off of him.

“ _Ugh!_ ” Tyler sits up and sees none other than Stefan restraining Vicky from going after him. “Let go of me!”

The young man doesn’t care about what’s happening as he’s about to run away, but he gets stopped by the apparition of another man right in front of him. A young man with dark black hair and blue eyes, who’s smirking darkly at him, and Tyler looks back at one of the only two people in know here.

“What’s going on, Stefan? What is wrong with her?”

“ **You don’t talk.** ”

Tyler looks back at the stranger he never met before, aside from far away glances he got of him walking in town with his ex-girlfriend Emma. “Screw you, dude.”

“’ Dude?’ Really?” The stranger feels his face scrunch up in disgust at the thought of this human boy going out with his daughter. “’ _Dude’?_ ”

“Damon, don’t.”

“Oh, come on!” Damon looks back at Stefan in annoyance. “Who’s going to miss this idiot? He deserves to die for what he did to Emma-”

He gets interrupted by Tyler punching him in the face, the dark vampire simply looking back at a dumbfounded human boy.

“ _No..!_ ” Vicky snarls up from her place. “Don’t you hurt him.”

The dark vampire doesn’t listen as he grips Tyler’s neck with one hand, pulling him up without using much force and slowly choking him.

“Damon.” Stefan’s voice somehow makes a way into his brother’s head. “Emma already hates you enough.”

Damon stares intensely at the boy in front of him, wondering what his daughter saw in him.

“ _Who are you..._ ” Tyler gasps for air, trying to get a hold of the vampire’s hands. “... _to Emma...?_ ”

Damon’s lips stretch out at the question, and his eyes change into another color as he speaks.

“ _ **Forget what you saw here tonight.**_ ” He wiggles his eyebrows at him. “ _ **None of us were here.**_ ”

Tyler suddenly gets thrown away on the other side of his car, his back hitting the cement ground and making him groan out in pain. He manages to stand up without much difficulty, his mind already wiped cleaned from what just happened and looks around in confusion at the empty school’s parking.

Why did he fall on the floor?

All he has on his mind is the sense that Emma might be in danger.

* * *

Elena opens the bathroom door but stops when she sees her brother standing in front of the sink.

“Sorry-”

“Oh no, it’s cool.” Jeremy puts his toothbrush back into the glass on the right side of the sink, giving his sister a small smile. “I’m done.”

Elena frowns in confusion, picking up her toothbrush. “You’re up early... where are you going?”

“Police station.” Jeremy stands back to give enough space for his sister to brush her teeth, putting his hands in his jean’s pocket. “They’re organizing a search party for Vicky, so...”

“Wait-” Elena stops from going out the door. “Shouldn’t you be going to school?”

He gives out a hard smile. “You’re kidding me, right? Vicky’s my friend and she’s missing, I’m gonna help find her.”

Elena takes in a sharp breath. “You shouldn’t skip school. If they find her, we’ll know. That’s what cellphones are for.”

He shakes his head, turning around to leave again. “Your lips keep moving, I don’t know why.”

“Has Emma called you?”

He stops in his tracks, his back still towards her. “No. No, she has not... and she’s not responding either.”

“Jeremy-”

“I need to go.”

He leaves before she can try and explain her friend’s point of view to him, not liking to see two people she loved staying away because of a misunderstanding.

* * *

“I don’t understand why I have to stay up here.” Vicky whines while sitting on the couch in Damon’s room, both vampires staying in with her. “Why can’t I just go home?”

“Because you’re changing, Vicky.” Stefan gives her a smile from his place. “And it’s not something you wanna do alone.”

Damon roughly turns the pages of the journal he’s holding in his hands, his eyebrows frowning in both confusion and frustration.

“There’s nothing about that Logan guy I killed in here. Not a _word_.” He closes the journal and takes out the compass watch he picked on the ground that same night, starting to play with it. “Someone’s covering it up.”

Vicky stares longingly at the compass in his hand, feeling annoyed at the sound he’s making with it. “What is that?”

The dark vampire looks back at the eighteen year old for a second before looking back at the cover of the paper.

“It’s a very special, very old compass.” He then turns his attention to his little brother, a smile coming out of his face. “What was Logan Fell doing with it? Aren’t you curious?”

Stefan sighs. “Well, if you’re so worried that somebody’s onto you... what won’t you just leave town, Damon?”

“Because I have a daughter to take care of.” His lips stretch out into an evil grin. “ _ **And we should all be worried.**_ ”

“Hey, um...” Vicky’s voice makes them look back at her, the girl looking around in boredom. “I’m hungry... do you have anything to eat?”

Stefan stands up and walks over a desk to pick up a glass full of animal’s blood.

“Here.”

He hands it to her and she takes it to approach it to her face, her expression scrunching up in disgusts when she doesn’t recognize the red liquid.

“What is it?”

Stefan sits back on the sofa in front of her. “It’s what you’re craving.”

Damon scoffs. “Don’t lie to the girl. It’s  _so_ not what you’re craving, but it’ll do in a pinch.”

“What is it?”

“Yeah, what is it?” The dark vampire seems to take great pleasure in this exchange. “Is it skunk? St. Bernard? Bambi?”

“Go on.” Stefan ignores his brother and conjures Vicky to drink the blood. “Give it a try.”

“She’s _new_.” Damon rolls his eyes while he continues to read the journal. “She needs people’s blood, she can’t sustain on that stuff.”

Vicky hums as she takes a sip of the blood, imagining that it’s from a human. “Yeah, what can’t I have people blood?”

“Because it’s wrong to prey on innocent people, Vicky.”

“You don’t have to kill to feed.” Damon gives the girl a proud grin. “Find someone really tasty and then erase their memory afterward. It’s so easy.”

Vicky giggles happily, Stefan rapidly shaking his head. “No, no, no- there’s no guarantee that you can control yourself, okay? It takes  _years_ to know that. You could easily kill somebody and then you’ll have to carry that with you for the rest of your life, which if I haven’t made clear, is eternity!”

“Don’t listen to him.” Vicky turns her attention to the dark vampire as she drinks the animal blood in the cup. “He walks on a moral plane way out of our eye line. I say... snatch, eat, _erase._ ”

“Oh yeah?” Stefan gives Damon a hard look. “And what if she feeds on Emma?”

Damon slowly loses his smile, his aura turning dark while Stefan turns back towards Vicky.

“We choose our own path. Our values and our actions, they define who we are.”

“ _No, I don’t think I’ll go to school today, Caroline._ ” Damon’s head perks up at the sound of his daughter’s voice downstairs. “ _What- No, I won’t come even if you threaten to force me into that horrible costume._ ”

“Okay, Count Deepak.” Damon puts the journal down on the table and stands up, walking out of the room. “I am out of here.”

“Yum.” Vicky picks up a drip of blood on the tip of the cup with her finger, putting it into her mouth as she looks back at Stefan. “Can I have some more?”

Meanwhile, the dark vampire steps down the grand steps to arrive into the living room, where his daughter chuckling while speaking on the phone.

“Car’, Car’!” Emma pauses for a second, a huge grin on her face. “I already have my costume, it’s an amazing one, I’ll see you at the Halloween party, not today at school. Hm-hm... hm hm... okay, bye.”

She hangs up her phone before her blond friend can add anything else, her father smiling fondly behind her.

“Skipping school again?”

Emma squeaks and turns around in one heartbeat, her panic expression turning to an annoyed one once she recognizes him.

“Dad!” She hits him in the shoulder, making him chuckle. “Stop scaring me!”

“ _But it’s fun-_ ”

He gets interrupted by the doorbell ringing, both of them turning towards the entrance in confusion... that is until Damon smiles proudly, recognizing the breathing he’s hearing from outside, then walks over to the door and opens it to reveal none other than Elena. The brown-haired girl tenses up at the sight of him, not liking how he seems to lean on the side of the door with a huge grin on his face, and she takes a breath in.

“Are Emma and Stefan here?”

“Yep.”

Elena slowly breathes out. “Where are they?”

“And good morning to you too, Little Miss I’m-On-A-Mission.”

“I’m here.” Emma appears in Elena’s vision, still a few feet behind her father. “Dad’s just being annoying.”

“Hi, Em’.” Elena relaxes upon seeing her friend and smiles at her. “How are you?”

“ _ **She’s fine.**_ ” Damon’s lips stretch out into a wider grin. “I’m her dad, I’m not gonna eat her up like a monster.”

The brown-haired girl turns frustrated eyes to him. “How can you be so arrogant and glib after everything that you’ve done?”

“And how can you be so brave and stupid to call a vampire arrogant and glib?”

“If you wanted me dead, I’d be dead.”

“Yes, you would.”

“But I’m not.”

Damon’s smug turns to annoyance. “ _**Yet.** _ ”

“Dad, stop.” Emma slightly pushes her father aside so she can grab Elena’s hand, both girls re-entering the boarding house. “I don’t like when you scare my friends.”

“They’re annoying.”

Elena gives out a hard smile. “How charming of you.” She turns her attention to the human Salvatore. “Where’s Stefan?”

“Upstairs.” Damon’s the one who answered instead of Emma, the dark vampire giving his daughter a bright smile. “I’m going out today, Pumpkin. Call me if you need me.”

Elena glares at him. “She won’t.”

“Elena...” Emma squeezes her friend’s hand to tell her to cut it out, then gives her dad a last look. “I will.”

“Good.” He walks out the door and gives them a wide grin. “Have a nice day, girls.”

Elena ends up slamming the door shut right into his face, making him chuckle at her action before he walks away. Emma, on the other end, gives out a long sigh just as her friend looks back at her.

“No offense, but I hate your dad.”

“Yeah, well... I’m sure you’re not the only one.” The Salvatore girl walks away with Elena on her trail, both brown-haired girls looking around. “Uncle Stefan? Elena’s here!”

Elena stops in her tracks when she hears the floorboards crack and she turns her head back while Emma looks up the stairs, the girl giving out another sigh when her uncle doesn’t show up.

“Uncle Stefan!”

“Yes?” Both girls jump up in surprise and look to their right to see Stefan standing at the bottom of the stairs, the vampire looking at them and waiting for an answer. Emma simply stays silent and points at Elena with her head, and so her uncle turns his attention to his ex-girlfriend who now seems to be overstressed.

“Where is Vicky?”

Stefan puts a finger on his lips before he walks closer to them. “She’s upstairs.

“And she’s gonna _stay_ upstairs, right?” Emma crosses her arms over her chest. “Because I don’t like having the idea of her sinking her teeth into my throat every five seconds.”

“Yeah, and what happens now?” Elena points at the entrance door behind her. “Because my brother is out there searching for her with the rest of the town.”

Emma scoffs and grumbles her next words. “ _Of course he is._ ”

Elena ignores the comment and focuses on Stefan. “What do I tell him?”

“I’m working with her.” Stefan pauses before he continues to speak. “It’s gonna take time. She’s a very volatile and impulsive personality. She’s a drug user. That’s gonna play a part in how she responds to this.”

Elena squints her eyes in confusion. “So she’s a vampire with issues?”

“Who also likes to steal my boyfriends.” Both Stefan and Elena gives Emma a long look, the brown-haired girl gulping slowly. “... sorry. I just don’t like her very much.”

Elena looks back at Stefan. “What am I supposed to do? Because I am lying to everyone that I care about. What’s gonna happen to her?”

“I’m gonna keep her here with me...” The young vampire lowers his voice, looking deeply into Elena’s eyes. “... until I know that she’s safe.”

“ _How long is that?_ ”

The three of them tense up when Vicky walks down the stairs and stops in the middle of them, giving Stefan a waiting look.

“ **How about when you finally learn to control yourself at least a little?** ”

Emma’s voice makes Vicky send her a dark glare, both girls looking like they’re about to jump at each other’s throat. Stefan difficultly gulps in under the tension in the air, trying to find something to ease the situation.

“W-we can talk about that later.”

“Hey, Vicky...” The eighteen-year-old vampire turns her attention to Elena, who’s wearing a worried expression on her face. “How are you?”

“How am I?” Vicky snorts. “You’re kidding, right?”

A texting sound coming from Emma suddenly stops the conversation, the brown-haired girl not even moving an inch to answer it.

“Emma.” The Salvatore girl turns her attention to her friend, who’s staring at her intently. “Maybe you should answer it... it could be Jeremy.”

“... fine.” Emma takes out her phone from her sweatshirt’s front pocket but frowns when she sees who texted her. “ _Huh._ ”

Vicky’s fist tightens their grip on the stair beam. “Who is it?”

Emma’s green eyes look up, and for once she doesn’t glare at her. “... It’s from Tyler.”

* * *

“Hey, man.”

Matt looks beside him to see Tyler standing there, the blond giving out a nod to him to his friend before he goes back to putting his stuff out of his bag and inside his locker. “Hey.”

“I heard they’re putting a search party for Vicky.”

“She just called.” Matt stops what he’s doing and gives his friend a hard smile. “She’s okay.”

“Oh, good.” Tyler’s eyes widen in surprise for a second, processing the information as fast as he can. “That’s great. I figured you must have been going out of your mind.”

“Little bit, yeah.”

Tyler slowly gulps when he feels the tension from Matt. “I-I was just gonna offer, you know, if there’s anything I could do...”

Matt’s smile turns to a genuine one. “I appreciate it.”

Tyler smiles back, but he slowly loses it when Matt. “Hey, have you heard from Emma?”

“Not really.” Matt takes one book out of his locker this time before he puts it in his bag for his first class. “She’s kind of been in and out of school for the last few weeks.”

“Yeah, I noticed... um...” Matt quirks an eyebrow at him, and Tyler takes in a sharp breath. “I’m worried about her. I’ve sent a text to her this morning and she hasn’t answered me yet.”

The blond snorts. “Don’t tell me you weren’t expecting that.”

“No- I mean, yes, she has all the reasons to never talk to me again-”

“Yes, she does.”

“Will you let me talk, man?” Matt shuts down his lips but not without smiling playfully at Tyler. “I don’t know, I’m just... worried.”

“Well...” Matt closes the door of his locker and gives his friend a proud smug. “I didn’t know you could feel compassion.”

Tyler rolls his eyes at him. “Oh, shut up.”

* * *

“I have got your costume!” Caroline smiles brightly at Bonnie when she walks over to her with a bag in her hands, the blond soon handing it over to the brown girl. “It’s all here.”

Bonnie excitedly takes the bag out of the blond’s hands and tries to take a look at the costume she got for her, but she soon loses it when she takes out a witch hat of the bag and so sends her friend an annoyed look. “Seriously?”

“Awn, come on!” Caroline pouts while she lands her back against the lockers. “Can someone _please_ be excited that it’s Halloween? I just wanna have fun!”

Bonnie continues to take out different parts of her costume to take a long look at it, already dreading to wear it while Caroline keeps talking.

“You know... just some silly, fluffy... _Damon-free_ fun.”

“Hey.” Bonnie shows the blond an ancient necklace she took from the bag. “Isn’t this the one you got from Damon?”

“Yep! Wear it, toss it. I don’t care.” Caroline gulps in her frustration as she looks away. “I just want it gone.”

Bonnie slowly puts it back into the bag, not sure what to tell next. Luckily, the blond always has a subject for conversation.

“Hey, have you seen Elena?” Caroline’s eyes widen when a thought flashes before her eyes. “Do we know what she’s wearing?”

“I was with Grams all weekend, I haven’t talked to her.” The brown girl puts the bag on her shoulder, giving her friend an apologetic smile. “Maybe she’s with Stefan.”

“Yeah, so is Emma.” Caroline crosses her arms over her chest, almost biting her bottom lip. “Spending time with him always feel like a fairytale for them, doesn’t it?”

“Oh, don’t be bitter.” Bonnie gives out a playful smile. “It provokes wrinkles.”

Caroline snorts while rolling her eyes, both friends soon leaving for class.

* * *

“Coffee is our friend.” Stefan smiles at Vicky while pointing at the cup in her hands. “It’s the caffeine... it circulates through our veins and warms our bodies so we’re not so cold to the touch.”

Vicky stays silent for a small moment, then shakes her head. “Well, what if I wanna drink human blood?”

Emma rolls her eyes in annoyance from the other side of the table but stays silent while Stefan continues to explain why drinking human blood  _might_ be a bad idea.

“You’re gonna have to live with that urge and fight it on a daily basis, one day at a time-”

“ _Ugh._ ” Vicky looks away with a disgusted expression. “Don’t start with that whole 12 Steps thing. The school counselor has been down that road and it doesn’t work for me.”

Stefan slightly twitches but takes a breath to stay patient. “It  _can_ work. It’s your choice, Vicky.”

The eighteen-year-old vampire smirks. “So you’ve never tasted human blood?”

The room turns to silence as Elena and Emma stare at Stefan, waiting for an answer, and the vampire slowly gulps in.

“... not in a long time.”

“How long?”

“Years and years...” Stefan breathes in sharply, starting to lose his patience with her. “I’m not... proud of my past behavior.”

Vicky groans as she holds her head. “Does this sketchy feeling ever go away? It’s like I have a massive hangover.”

“You should be used to it, then.”

The eighteen-year-old vampire glares at Emma before she rolls her eyes in annoyance. “This daylight thing is a bitch!” She stands up and sends Stefan a long look. “I need more blood! Also, where’s your bathroom? I need to pee- why do I need to pee? I thought I was dead.”

Stefan silently points a direction to her and she loudly walks away, Emma and Elena both staying silent for different reasons.

“I’m, um...” The young vampire gives his ex-girlfriend a small look. “I’m gonna get her some more.”

She just stares back at him without saying any word, not feeling well about this whole thing.

“Right...” Stefan stands up and walks away. “I’ll be quick.”

Elena gives out a long sigh as soon as he disappears, and she turns to give her friend a long look. “How do you live with that every day?”

“Thought it was normal when I was a kid.” Emma stands up and Elena follows her into the living room, the first brown-haired girl still feeling quite frustrated. “Learned it wasn’t when Zach stopped me from drinking blood like dad does.”

Vicky suddenly comes back, her loud steps echoing as she sighs. “False alarm. My body’s feeling really... funky. It’s a good funk, but it’s weird.”

Both human girls stare longly at the newborn vampire while she picks up her phone from the table, Elena being the first to talk.

“Who are you calling?”

Vicky quirks an eyebrow at her. “Jeremy.”

Emma instantly snaps her head towards her. “No, you’re not.”

“ _Watch me._ ”

“Vicky...” Elena takes a step towards the vampire, feeling unsure. “You can’t see Jeremy anymore..”

“Oh, come on. Don’t you start.” Vicky glares at her from her place. “I’m gonna see whoever I wanna see.”

“He’s _my_ boyfriend!” Emma’s voice gets louder from her anger, the girl no longer caring if she could die. “And I’m not gonna let you steal him from me!”

“Wanna bet?” Vicky gives out a proud smirk. “I did it once, I can do it twice.”

“You bitch-”

“Vicky-” Elena stops her friend from talking. “You could hurt him.”

“I would never hurt Jeremy.”

“I know you think that, but I can’t take that risk.” Elena shakes her head at her. “You’re gonna have to let Jeremy go now.”

“Oh, _really?_ ” Vicky throws her phone against the table. “And how long have you been preparing the you’re-not-good-enough speech? I assume it predates the whole vampire thing.”

“Look, all I’m saying is that Jeremy is not getting involved in this thing...”

“But Emma can keep seeing him, right?”

“That’s not-”

“You leave Jeremy alone, Vicky.” Emma speaks before Elena can say anything else, her green eyes full of rage. “I mean it.”

Vicky scoffs. “Or what?”

The idea of throwing a bucket of vervain on her head passes through the brown-haired girl’s mind, but she only has time to open her mouth before the newly born vampire grabs her by the throat, making Elena scream in fear beside her.

“ _ **Let’s get one thing straight, you perky little bitch. I won’t hesitate to sink my teeth inside your throat for one. Split. Second.**_ ”

Emma feels the space in her throat shrinking with the pressure getting put on it, the girl starting to choke while Elena puts her hand in front of her mouth in fear. “Vicky, no-”

“Shut up, Elena.” Vicky turns her head to the brown-haired girl and glares at her. “You had my brother whipped for fifteen years. _Fifteen years_ and then you dumped him. When I look at you, that is all I see. Just so you know.”

She looks back into Emma’s green eyes, which are starting to get dull. “ _**And I’m gonna see Jeremy whenever I wanna see Jeremy because I have some fun new toys to play with.** _ ”

She frees her and then disappears into the house, Elena running towards her gasping and coughing friend. Emma just tries her best to breathe in, her eyes glaring at the direction Vicky went to.

* * *

Emma massages her throat to try and ease the pain, tears in her eyes as she looks at her uncle. “She threatened me.”

“She threatened both of us.” Elena squeezes her friend’s shoulders before giving Stefan a hard look. “You _have_ to do something!”

“She’s on edge...” Stefan shakes his head, both girls sighing in annoyance. “Imagine every sense of your body operating at super-speed. I mean, she’s uncomfortable in her own skin. And then, when you throw her other issues-”

“Other issues?” Emma almost snarls at him. “She’s trying to steal my boyfriend and said she would kill if I stopped her!”

“I-okay, I know this sounds bad, but-”

“ _How long before it settles?_ ” Elena’s question seems to throw him off. “Hours? Days? Weeks?”

“There’s... no rulebook.”

Emma scoffs. “Well, how long before you learned to control it?”

“A while.” Both girls seem not satisfied with that answer. “But I didn’t have anybody helping me, I had to do it on my own. The thing is, it’s hard to resist certain people, especially when you’re new. It’s difficult to separate your feelings: Love, lust, desire, anger... it can all blur into one urge... _**hunger**_.”

Elena squints her eyes in confusion. “What does that mean?”

“That Jeremy can’t see her.” Emma blinks in fear, the worst going through her mind as she speaks. “She could kill him without wanting to.”

Stefan stares intently into his niece’s eyes. “I’m not gonna let anybody get hurt.” He turns his attention to Elena in one second. “ _Anybody._ ”

“I need to get going...”

Elena frees her friend’s shoulders and starts walking away, the vampire staring at her. “Elena.”

“Please, Stefan-” The brown-haired girl gives out a sad smile. “There’s only so much I can take.”

She leaves them right there, and Emma gives her uncle a hard look.

“I’m gonna give her one last chance...” She passes by him to go back to the boarding house. “... but if dad asks about my neck, I’ll tell him everything.”

He doesn’t have much of a choice but to silently agree with her.

* * *

That night, Damon came back inside his room only to see Vicky laying down onto his bed in boredom, the dark vampire frowning at her as he walks in.

“What are you doing?”

The eighteen-year-old girl turns her head at him and smiles. “Just contemplating the next hundred years.” Damon snots as he walks closer and sits down, then the girl’s smile slightly falters. “Why did you do it?”

“I was...” The dark vampire frowns as he thinks, trying to find the right word. “... bored.”

Vicky sits up and glares annoyingly at him. “You did this to me out of boredom?”

“And anger.” He gives out a smile. “I was in a fight with my little pumpkin who _refused_ to speak to me.”

“... that’s Emma, right?” Damon nods and she sighs, not wanting to talk about the brown-haired girl. “Now _I’m_ bored.”

The dark vampire’s lips stretch out while she speaks fast.

“All I can think about is blood. I just want some blood. I can’t think about anything else, what is that about?”

Damon chuckles. “That’ll ease up.” He looks at her and tilts his head. “You’ve been scooped up here all day.”

She eagerly nods, and he makes a sign towards the door with his head.

“Let’s go.”

She smiles wildly. “Where?”

“Well, your life was pathetic.” His stands up, giving her his hand. “Your afterlife doesn’t have to be.”

She grabs his hand in one go and follows him down the stairs while chuckling with excitement, both passing by Stefan in the entrance hallway who follows them in worry.

“What are you doing?”

“She’s been cooped up in our rooms all day, she’s not Anne Frank-”

“No, no, no-” Stefan stops his brother from opening the door, all kinds of scenarios coming into his head. “Hey, hey. Now’s not the time for this-”

“If you’re gonna teach her, teach her.” Damon tilts his head so he can be able to see Vicky. “Show her what it’s all about.”

“She could hurt someone-”

“I’m not taking her to Disney Land, we’re going to the front yard.” Damon opens the door and pushes Stefan aside so Vicky can go out. “Come on.”

Stefan follows them outside, not liking where this is going. “Bad idea, Damon.”

“She’s a vampire, Stefan, she should know the perks.”

Vicky’s smile widens. “Like what?”

They all stop in the middle of the front yard, the dark vampire giving out a proud smirk.

“Like...” He suddenly disappears, having used his powers to get behind the newly born vampire in one go. He then lightly touches her shoulder with a few taps from his fingers, the girl turning around with an exciting smile on her face.

“Whoa! How did you do that?”

Stefan shifts on his feet, feeling the stress eat his insides as he observes Damon re-use his power to come back to his original place. The dark vampire, noticing that the girl hasn’t picked on anything, whistle to get her attention, and she turns back with an even wider smile and an exciting laugh.

“Come on, Vicky.” Damon shows off the rest of the front yard with his hand. “Live a little... no pun intended.”

Vicky doesn’t wait for long before she uses her speed and runs into the forest, the other two vampires looking in the direction she left and then waiting for her to come back. But after a few minutes of pure silence, it’s clear to them that she is  _not_ coming back.

“Um...” Damon scrunches up his face for a second. “My bad.”

Stefan can’t help but worry about Emma’s safety now that he no longer has an eye on Vicky.

* * *

Matt puts a plate of hot dogs on the table in front of his sister, then he gives her a worried expression. “Where were you, Vic’?”

“It’s not a big deal.” The girl sighs annoyingly while her brother sits down beside her. “Drop it already.”

“Three people were murdered in the woods!” Vicky shakes her head. “The cops were looking for you... they wanna question you.”

“They know where I live!”

“Everyone was worried about you-”

“Well, I’m back now.” Vicky shakes her head again. “Just let it go.”

“Are you kidding?” The girl nods while Matt glares at her in frustration. “I had a freaking search party looking for you while you were off on your crazy drug trip. And you want me to let it go?”

Vicky suddenly breaks off her plate using her fork, then drops it on the table so she can grab her head and whine painfully. “ _**My head hurts...** _ ”

Matt shakes his head at her. “You think?” The doorbell suddenly rings, and so the blond stands up and goes to open it. “Stefan, what are you doing here?”

“Is Vicky home?”

Matt nods in confusion. “Yeah.”

“Can I see her, please?”

Vicky tenses up in fear. “Don’t let him in, I don’t want him in here.”

Matt looks back at his sister with even more confusion. “Did he do something to you?”

“No! I just... don’t want him in here!”

“Just...” Stefan gives Matt a long and serious look. “Let me come in so I can explain myself.”

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but I think you should leave now.”

“Matt-”

“Please.” Matt’s expression darkens as he stares at the vampire. “Now, Stefan.”

The blond then shuts the door, the young vampire now having no possibility to even save him if Vicky ever loses control.

* * *

“You gotta call me, Emma.” Jeremy closes his fridge’s door as he speaks on the phone, giving out a sigh. “I don’t get it. What’s going on with you? Just... just call me, please.”

Elena walks in just as he hangs up and starts looking through the cabinets to take a glass, the brown-haired girl looking at him in worry. “Hey.”

Jeremy only sighs to let her know he heard her, making himself a glass of lemonade while she speaks.

“So, um... do you wanna hang out tonight? We could go to the Halloween thing at school. Could be fun.”

He puts down the lemonade, then looks at her in frustration. “Cool. Sure. Sounds fun. Can’t wait.”

“I know you’re upset about Emma.” Her words stop him from leaving the room. “She’s just... not feeling well right now-”

“Oh yeah? And what would you know about that-”

“She _saw_ you hug Vicky and it messed with her head, okay?” The young boy frowns in confusion at his sister, waiting for her to add more. “She already lost Tyler to that girl, now she’s afraid she’ll lose you too.”

“But she won’t lose me-”

“ _I_ know that, but _she_ doesn’t.” Jeremy gives out another long sigh, and Elena gives him a small smile. “Look... maybe this is for the better.”

He glares at her. “What do you mean?”

“Maybe the best thing you could do for her is to let her go.”

“What does that even mean, ‘let her go’? We’re just in a little misunderstanding!” Elena takes in a sharp breath, not wanting to tell him that she wants them to break up so he can be safe. “Oh. _Oh_ , I get it. You don’t like it when you have to share your friends, is that it?”

“What? No-”

“I mean, you did the same thing when we were little, why shouldn’t I expect the same thing from you now?”

“Look, I know you may not see it... but trust me, Jer’, it’s for the best.”

“Does she know you feel like that?” The fact that she looks away in guilt makes him think that Emma doesn’t, and so he walks closer to her to give her a hard stare. “For months after mom and dad died, I felt like crap. Like, nothing-really-even-matter crap. And all of a sudden, I get these moments, and things started to feel a bit better and Emma was in every single one of them.”

Elena’s eyes start to water up just as he starts having difficulties to breathe.

“I love her, Elena.” Jeremy takes a step back. “So _you_ may not see it, but trust me... keeping me away from her is not for the best.”

He then leaves the kitchen with his glass of lemonade in his hand and Elena tries her best not to burst into tears with all the guilt she’s feeling inside. The young boy stops in the entrance hallway though, his phone beeping making him look at his new text messages, and he can’t help but smile when he sees that it’s from Emma.

_ I’m sorry, I wasn’t feeling well... meet me? _

He’s just happy that she’s talking to him again, and so he doesn’t wait to type back.

_ Yes. Where? _

Vicky, who has stolen Emma’s phone earlier, gives out a huge grin and types the next step of her plan to steal him away from the human girl.

_ School. It’s Halloween! _

Jeremy smiles when he remembers that it’s Emma’s favorite holiday of all time, small memories of her past amazing costumes coming back to his mind as he answers that he’ll meet her there.

And Vicky couldn’t help but chuckle at how smart she is.

* * *

A Tyler wearing only jeans and a red cloak around his neck approaches Caroline and Bonnie disguised as witches with two drinks in his hands, his smile stretching out at the sight of them.

“Ciders for the ladies? It’s a Lockwood special.”

“Oh, no way.” Bonnie shakes her head and gives him a sorry smile. “Last year, I was hungover until Thanksgiving.”

Caroline scoffs as she takes a drink from Tyler’s hand. “Lightweight.  _ I _ am going to drink until someone is hot enough to make out with.”

Tyler gives her a surprised smile. “Sounds like a plan.”

They both clink their drinks together, and Tyler’s about to drink from the last one he has when-

“Hey, guys.”

The three of them widen their eyes in surprise upon seeing Emma beside them, the brown-haired girl wearing a simple white dress full of blood.

“Hey!” Bonnie gives her friend a bright smile. “We haven’t seen you in ages!”

“Yeah.” Caroline snorts. “We thought you were dead or something.”

“Yeah, well... I might be soon. What’s that?” She looks at the drink in Tyler’s hand, and he just stares at her in surprise that she’s talking to him without any hatred in her voice.

“Um... it’s Lockwood’s special cider-”

“Give it to me.” She takes it from his hand and gulps the whole liquid in one go, the three others staring at her in disbelief.

“Woah.” Bonnie gives Emma a worried look. “Are you okay?”

“No.” Emma gives her empty drink at the brown girl, then turns her attention to Tyler. “Do you have more?”

“Um... yeah-”

“Okay, let’s go.”

She simply grabs his arm and takes him away from her two friends, and Tyler simply sends the two girls behind him a confused look while he’s getting pulled away by her.

* * *

“How many martinis have you had?”

Mrs. Lockwood groans in annoyance at her husband. “Don’t start with me.”

“Can we go now?” The mayor of the town looks at his watch before he finishes his drink. “We’re late for the Halloween party. Come on, let’s go.”

Mrs. Lockwood gives him a long look. “So go ahead. I’d like to finish my drink.”

Tyler’s dad simply rolls his eyes as he puts his empty drink on the table, soon leaving his wife alone in the bar as he walks away. The woman takes another sip of her martini without even caring, her drunk state making her feel powerful as she looks behind her and spots a dark young man staring at her seductively. She gives him back a smile, then looks back down at her table while smiling like a teenage girl who has a crush, then takes another sip of her drink. She looks up in surprise when she sees the young man arriving at her table soon after and then sits in front of her.

“Let me guess...” He squints his eyes playfully at her. “Daisy Buchanan.”

She lets out a light chuckle when he says her costume name and his smile stretches out.

“I love a good Gatsby look.”

She points at him. “I’ve met you before. Aren’t you Caroline Forbes’ boyfriend?”

The man scrunches up his face. “She had a schoolgirl crush on me, but... It was cute, but I had to let her down... easy.”

She gives out a smile. “It’s Damon, right?”

“Oh, you remember.”

“You have a face that’s hard to forget.” She gives him a seductive look, then slightly loses her smile. “What’s your last name, Damon?”

He stays silent for a few seconds, asking himself if he should tell the truth. “... Salvatore.”

“Salvatore?” He hums in positive at her surprised question. “Are you in any relation with Emma?”

Damon gives her a confused look, his heart tightening in suspicious. “Emma’s my sister.”

He approaches his upper body to her despite the table as he uses his hypnotism on her.

“How do you know Emma?”

She gives him a worried look. “Are you okay?”

He blinks in surprise, then smiles at her as he wipes his left eye with his finger. “Yeah... I think there’s... something in my eye.”

“Well...” She gives a proud grin. “I know Emma because she used to be my son’s girlfriend.”

“Oh.” Damon fakely smiles brightly. “You’re Tyler’s mom?”

“Yes!” She giggles happily, totally forgetting that the two teenagers didn’t end their relationship well. “But I also know her because of your uncle, Zach. He’s in the Founder’s Council with me.”

Damon frowns as he thinks, Mrs. Lockwood not noticing his eyes looking down at a golden bracelet on her wrists.

“You know, the Salvatores were one of this town’s original settlers.”

He looks back into her eyes and smiles. “Yes, they were... I wasn’t aware that Zach was a member.”

She gives him a surprised look.

“I just... recently moved back home and haven’t really had a chance to meet many of his friends.”

“Will you tell him to return my calls?” She points at him and smiles. “I’ve left several messages.”

“Zach went out of town for a bit.” He smiles for a while, then loses it when he gets an idea. “But... if it’s about the vervain...”

She blinks and tilts her head at him. “You know about the vervain?”

“Well, I’m a Salvatore.” Damon smiles brightly. “Of course I do. So does Emma, by the way.”

She lets out a shaky chuckle. “Of course...”

He chuckles back, then shows her his drink. “Cheers.”

She gladly clinks her drink with his, already hoping that his night never ends.

* * *

Emma giggles happily as she drinks her third cup of Lockwood’s cyder.

“This is amazing, you know...” She gives out another chuckle as she looks at Tyler, not noticing his worried expression. “I don’t know why I refused to drink until now-”

“Okay, that’s it.” Tyler takes her drink away from her and throws the liquid on the ground. “You’ve had enough.”

Emma pouts. “You’re no fun...”

“Emma, you’re drunk. And I’ve never seen you get drunk in my entire life.” He puts his hands on her shoulders, trying to make her concentrate on him instead of laughing at blank space. “What’s going on?”

She snorts. “You know that... Vicky’s trying... to steal Jeremy from me?”

He blinks a couple of times in disbelief. “What?”

“I know!” She points at him with a bright smile. “That was my reaction! Hahaha... first you, now him. Ha! What next? Everything else in my life?”

“Emma...” He uses his hands to stop her from falling unto the ground, her smile faltering as he speaks. “Is that why you haven’t been to school for the last few days?”

She suddenly starts crying, and his heart drops in his stomach.

“Emma...?”

“ _I don’t wanna lose him..._ ” She wraps her arms around him and hides her head in his neck. “ _I’m so tired of losing people I love..._ ”

The boy slowly wraps his arms around her to comfort her despite the pain in his chest, the guilt making his stomach flip. “Look... I’m sorry for what I did to you... but I’m sure Jeremy loves you too much to leave you for Vicky.”

Emma sniffs in and frees her face to look at him. “... you really think so...?”

“Trust me.” Tyler gives out a smile as he looks into her green eyes. “He would be stupid to repeat my mistake.”

She gives out a slight laugh. “There’s the guy I grew up with... thank you, Tyler.”

“You’re welcome.” He tilts his head at her and sighs. “Now, why don’t you call him? See if he can pick you up and take you home?”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea, wait for a second-” She tries to look into the purse she took with her, but frowns in confusion after trying to find her phone for a few seconds. “Wait, where is it-”

“You can’t find it?”

“No!” She starts getting frustrated, her anger making her mind think things a little clearer despite her drunk state. “No, it’s not- Oh fuck.”

“What?” He notices how her face turns to white, her eyes widen in fear. “Emma, what’s-”

“I need to go.” She walks away from him and towards the entrance of the school. “I’ll text you later, Tyler.”

He simply watches her go away in silence and confusion, even if deep down he knows he should make sure she doesn’t die or get kidnap in her drunken state.

But Emma has other important things to do than make sure she stays safe and alive-

-and one of them was to make sure Vicky pays for stealing her phone.

* * *

Vicky feels herself about to plunge her teeth deep into one of the teenagers dancing around her when she suddenly gets dragged in an empty room at full speed, the newly born vampire then looking up to see none other than Stefan in front of her and also blocking the exit.

“What, you’re following me now?”

“You didn’t really give me much of a choice.”

She tries to walk past him, but he steps in front of her before she can. “Let me out of here!”

“You shouldn’t be here, Vicky.” Stefan gives her a serious look. “Crowds like this, it makes it even harder for you to keep yourself under control.”

“I’m fine!”

“Really?” She hums in positive and he squints her eyes at her. “No headache? Your stomach’s not screaming at you? You’re not feeling lightheaded or anxious or cranky, like if someone looks at you the wrong way you could just rip their head off?”

She starts breathing heavily, not knowing what to say to get her out of this situation.

“Do you wanna know what that’s called? It’s called _**hunger**_.” He tilts his head at her. “And it’s only gonna get worse and worse every minute that you pretend like it’s not controlling you.”

Her frustrated expression turns to a scared one as she listens to him.

... okay, maybe he’s trying to help her out here.

* * *

Damon approaches his face to Mrs. Lockwood, lowering his voice as he puts his arm behind her. “So you need vervain?”

“Yes.” She slowly moves her finger around her martini glass. “My husband and I only have left what his parents left him.”

“Hm.”

“And _Zach_ had promised that he could supply us with more.”

“Well-” Damon turns his head to pick up his drink. “-I talked to him all the time. So why don’t you just ask him?”

She shrugs as an answer and they both pause to take a sip of their drinks, Damon humming positively as the whiskey goes down his throat.

“So-” His voice brings her attention back to him. “-how much do you need? I mean, how many people do you think?”

She takes a moment to think. “Well, there’s our children, of course.”

He smiles. “Of course.”

“And then, um... friends, family, and everyone on the council.”

Damon frowns as she takes another sip of her martini. “The council?”

She looks at him awkwardly. “... Zach knows how many.”

“Hm.” He gives her a small grin, and she gives out a chuckle.

“You know what? I am _so_ late.” She continues to laugh. “My husband is not going to be happy with me.”

“Well, are you...” She finishes another sip before she looks at him, Damon giving her a seductive smile. “... happy with your husband?”

She gives out a sweet smile. “You’re flirting with me.”

“You flirted with me first.”

“True.” She gives out another chuckle as they look into each others’ eyes.

“Let me escort you to the school, it’s not safe out there alone.” She hums in response, still drinking from her martini as he gives a quick look around. “I mean, I’ve seen 10 vampires tonight.”

She snorts. “Well, if only the real ones were as easy to find.”

He quirks his eyebrows at her. “How is that search going?”

“Oh... well... we had the Founder’s Party, and everyone who arrived during the day was eliminated as a suspect.”

His expression changes as he hears her words, a smile creeping up onto his lips. “ _ Oh... _ ”

“And all the rest were just dead ends, so...” He hums as a response and she puts down her drink on the table. “I gotta go.”

He stands up from his place to let her scoot out, then he follows her outside to make sure she stays safe.

* * *

“Elena.”

The brown-haired girl gasps and turns around to see her friend Emma, worry coming into your mind when she sees the state she’s in. “Em’! Where were you? I saw Bonnie and Caroline and-”

“I think Vicky’s here.”

Elena gives her a serious look. “Yeah, I know. Matt told me.”

“And I think she stole my phone. _Please_ tell me Jeremy didn’t get any messages for me.”

Elena gives out a shaky sigh. “Em’, that’s the whole reason he came here. You said you wanted to meet him here.”

“N-no, Elena, that wasn’t me, that was her!” Elena’s eyes widen in fear, and she starts looking around in a panic. “Do you know where he is?”

“No, I-” She stops talking when she spots something behind Emma. “Oh, thank god.”

Emma looks behind her only to see Stefan dragging Vicky behind him, and she gives out a sigh full of relief.

“What’s the matter?”

“I lost track of Jeremy.” Elena gives Vicky a long look. “I was worried.”

“That’s mine.” Emma suddenly takes her phone back from the eighteen-year old’s hand. “ _Thank you._ ”

Vicky just sends her a glare, but her expression changes when Matt arrives at the scene.

“What’s going on?”

“Hey.” Stefan gives out a shaky smile. “Everything’s fine.”

Vicky turns to him with a hard expression. “I told you to quit bothering me!”

Both Emma and Elena give her confused expression, but it’s the last brown-haired girl that speaks first when she realizes what the newly born vampire is doing.

“No, Vicky, don’t do this-”

“Matt, he won’t leave me alone.”

The blond gives the vampire a hard look. “You need to back off, man.”

“Matt-” Elena shakes her head with a smile. “-it’s okay-”

“No, it’s not okay!” He turns his attention back to Emma’s uncle. “What the hell is your problem?”

“The problem is that she stole my phone when she was on drugs, Matt.” Emma shows her phone to the blond, who seems to calm down at her explanation. “Stefan was just trying to get it back for me.”

“Oh, I....” Matt frowns in confusion. “I’m sorry, man-”

“Stefan.” Elena starts walking away with heavy breathing. “She’s gone!”

It doesn’t take long for Emma and Stefan to follow the brown-haired girl into the school, Matt looking them leave without really knowing how to react.

* * *

Jeremy walks around with a light heart as he tries to look for Emma, the girl he loves more than anything in the world until he suddenly gets yank away by someone and he accidentally gives out a scream. He gives out a chuckle once he recognizes Vicky smiling at him, actually feeling glad that she’s safe and sound.

“Vicky, you scared the hell out of me.”

She bites her bottom lip while smiling. “I’m sorry...”

She suddenly presses her lips against him, and he snaps his head back. “Woah, Vicky- I already told you, I-”

“ _ **Kiss me.**_ ”

He feels himself get compelled by her eyes looking into his brown ones, but he still has the urge to fight it. “I-”

“ _ **Kiss me!**_ ”

He feels himself lean in with passion even though his mind is screaming at him to stop, the newborn vampire smiling evilly against his lips before she parts away.

“Come on.” He lets himself get dragged away by her, not having any strength to tell her no even though he wanted to.

* * *

Bonnie silently watches Damon approach her with a smile before he picks up a candy from the cauldron she’s been guarding for the children, the dark vampire looking around before turning his attention back to her.

“So... where’d Caroline run off to?”

Bonnie glares at him. “Do yourself a favor, Damon, and don’t ask me about Caroline.”

“Oh, _Bonnie._ ” He gives her a proud grin. “So loyal.”

“ _ **Just stay away from her.**_ ” She squints her eyes at him as hard as she can. “And from Emma, too.”

He gives out a snort but soon loses his smile when his eyes catch the sight of the necklace he stole from the Lockwood’s house around her neck.

“Where’d you get that?”

Bonnie subconsciously take the necklace in her hand. “From a friend.”

He gives out a small smile. “Caroline.” She stays silent, which makes his smile stretch out. “You know that’s mine, don’t you?”

“ _ **Not anymore.**_ ”

He frowns before he speaks sarcastically. “Funny.” He smiles again as he snaps his fingers. “I’d like it back, please.”

“I’m not giving it to you.” His expression darkens under her confidence. “I’ll give it back to Caroline and she can give it to you if she feels like it.”

“ _Or..._ I could just take it right now!”

He tries to yank it away from her neck, but instead, he gets burned by simply touching it and he takes his hand back while panting from the pain, looking back up at a terrified Bonnie who doesn’t wait to run away in complete fear.

Huh.

Emma didn’t tell him she had a witch friend.

* * *

Vicky brings Jeremy outside of school in the bus parking lot, pulling him in between two of the giant yellow vehicles before she pushes him against one of them and starts kissing him violently. He has no choice but to let her do whatever she wants as he feels completely hypnotized, every word coming out of his mouth not having been processed by his mind.

“I was worried about you...”

“I’m fine now, but...” She gives him another kiss before she slightly loses her grin. “... I gotta leave.”

“W-what? Where?”

She sighs as she lays her hands on his shoulders. “I gotta get out of here, Jer’. I can’t live at home with Matt. He just doesn’t get it.”

“No, you can’t...” He feels his eyes slowly shut down as the words keep coming out of his mouth like it’s what Vicky wants to hear. “You can’t just leave...”

She smiles brightly as she holds his head so he can look into her eyes. “Come with me.” He just smiles as an answer and she takes the opportunity to share another long passionate kiss with him, the boy staying silent when she parts away. “If you come with me, we can be together forever.”

The image of Emma comes into his mind and tries to hold onto it the best as he can, but he can’t control anything and he smiles at Vicky.

“Okay.” He nods, his mind screaming in agony. “Yeah.”

She instantly presses her mouth against his, feeling her saliva growing inside her mouth as she tastes the inside of his skin. She suddenly bites his bottom lip as hard as she can, the boy parting away in pain and only staring at her in confusion when she takes the dripping blood on his chin and starts licking it.

“Taking that costume a little bit far?” He feels his heart beating up faster from the fear she’s giving him, especially when she starts looking intensely at his bloody lips. “W-what? What is it?”

She licks the blood of his chin before she captures his bottom lips within hers, then she sucks the blood as hard as she can.

“Vicky...?” He opens his mouth wide when she starts bitting him even harder. “Vicky... Vicky, what hell!?”

He manages to get out of the compulsion and pushes her away from him, but his angry expression soon turns to a feared one when he sees her eyes turn red and veins crawl out of her face.

“Oh my god, Vicky...” He starts stepping back when she runs towards him in hunger. “ _ **Vicky, no- Stop! Vicky!**_ ”

Emma arrives running in the bus’ parking lot just when she hears Jeremy screams, the adrenaline mixed with the alcohol in her veins pushing her to take a plank on the side and running towards where she heard him. Her hearts drop in her stomach when she finally arrives sees Vicky about to plunge her teeth into his throat, her voice screaming before she can think.

“ _ **Vicky, no!** ”_

The newly born vampire snarls at the brown-haired girl and pushes Jeremy away before she walks towards her, Emma not waiting for another second before she defends herself by hitting Vicky with the plank in her hands. Her mouth opens wide when the plank just breaks, and Emma tries to run back only to feel Vicky’s fingers get wrapped around her throat for the second time, but the brown-haired girl gets thrown against the school’s wall instead of getting choked.

“Emma...” Jeremy manages to let a word out as he feels himself slowly walks closer. “Emma...!”

The human girl manages to sit up despite the pain the fall caused, and Vicky’s about to jump on her to finish her pathetic life when Stefan suddenly arrives and throws her against a bus, Elena also running out of school and stopping in her tracks once she sees the situation.

“Vicky...”

The eighteen-year-old girl gets out of Stefan grips and suddenly disappears from all sights, everyone staring at where she was just as Emma stands up holding her arm. Stefan pants as he looks around looking for the newborn vampire, but worry settles in his mind and gives the three humans a serious look.

“ _Go._ ” He puts his hand behind Emma’s shoulder and gently pushed her towards Jeremy and Elena. “Get inside! _**Go!**_ ”

Emma runs towards the Gilbert without thinking and Jeremy grabs her hand in desperation, the three humans then running towards the way they all came out here from as fast as they possibly can. Elena opens the door first and gets inside first, Emma about to follow with Jeremy behind her when the boy gets pulled away and thrown onto the ground. The Salvatore girl screams in agony when she feels sharp teeth get inside the side of her throat, the young Gilbert staring in silence with terrified eyes while Elena starts crying at the sight of her friend dying.

“ _ **Emma!**_ ”

Everything suddenly stops when Stefan shoves a wooden stick into Vicky’s heart from behind, the vampire girl freeing the human Salvatore and slowly changing her face back to a human one. Emma steps back and holds onto her bleeding neck while the tears run down her face, watching Vicky gasps when Stefan takes the stick out of her body.

“Vicky...” Emma feels her anger wash away as she sees the girl’s face slowly starting to decay from dying. “Vicky...!”

The girl falls onto the ground and completely stops moving, all of the remaining people staring at her in complete silence.

“What...” Jeremy cries as he stares at Vicky’s dead body. “What...”

Emma looks at Stefan and Elena. “Get him out of here.”

“She’s right.” Elena puts her hands on Jeremy’s shoulders and pushes him towards the exit. “Let’s go.”

Stefan gives his niece one last look before he takes out his cellphone and calls Damon, following Elena and Jeremy from behind.

“ _What?_ ”

Stefan can just hear Damon’s smirk from his voice, but he ignores it. “I need your help. _”_

* * *

Emma slowly falls onto her knees beside Vicky while she stares at her, already thinking about how much pain this is going to cause to Matt, one of her best friends since childhood. She sobs when she remembers how the eighteen-year-old girl used to be so sweet to her back in the day, and she wishes she could have the strength to look away from her decaying dead body.

“Pumpkin.” Damon kneels beside her as soon as he arrives and gives her an intense worried look, the blood coming out of his daughter’s neck making him wish he was the one planting the wooden stick inside Vicky’s body. “Pumpkin, are you okay?”

“ _No._ ” Emma’s lips start to quiver from pain and sadness. “ _No, I’m_ _ **not**_ _okay._ ”

“Oh, Emma...” Damon pushes a strand of hair out of her face, then starts to get a closer look at her neck. “This is a nasty bite... we should give you some of my blood to-”

“ _ **No!**_ ” Emma yanks his hand away and stands up abruptly, sending him a death glare. “ _You_ did this! This is your fault!”

“ _She_ hurt you!” He stands up and gives her an unbelief look. “I don’t care that she died because of me! She deserved it!”

“ _ **People die around you!**_ ”

“ _Those people don’t matter to me!_ ”

“I’ve grown up with those people!” Emma feels a sob coming out of her throat. “They **matter** to me!”

“Oh, _really?_ ” He gives her a smirk. “Even the ones who fake being your friend and secretly sabotages you?”

“I don’t care what you think.” She squints her eyes at him and slowly walks towards the school. “You’re no longer a dad to me.”

“No-” He grabs her arm and yanks her back, ignoring her yelp. “Do _not_ walk away from me again, Emma Salvatore.”

“I’ll walk away if I want to!”

“Not with those wounds, you won’t-”

“ _ **I prefer dying in the most painful way possible than taking a single drop of your blood.**_ ”

He scrunches up in face in anger before he frees her arm. “ _**Leave then** _ .”

She gives him one last look before she walks inside the school. “With pleasure.”

He has to contain his face from twitching as he watches her leave, then he puts his attention on Vicky’s dead body to try and calm himself down.

_ Why _ can’t his daughter understand that he’s doing all of this for her own sake?

* * *

Emma tries her best to walk towards the front parking lot where she left Zach’s car, and thus despite her bleeding wounds, but she keeps groaning in pain and getting a few weird looks from other teenagers. Luckily it’s Halloween and they all think she’s just taking her costume a little too far, but she stops in her tracks and let out a relieved sigh when he feels the pain stop for a while, the girl taking out her cellphone from her purse after hearing it beep.

_ Please come to my house. Jeremy won’t talk to me and he keeps mumbling your name. _

Her heart twists in pain at the thought of Jeremy suffering because of her family, and she can’t help but let a couple of tears down-

“Hey, Emma!” She turns her head towards a running Matt, the blond giving her a smile from afar while he arrives. “Hey, have you seen- Woah.” His expression turns to worry when he sees her tears, not realizing that there’s more blood on her dress than before. “What happened?”

“Nothing, I’m just... I’m just tired.” She points at her car, just wanting to go straight to Jeremy now. “I’m gonna go home and shower-”

“I can’t find Vicky.” Emma freezes and closes her eyes under the pain, the blond continuing to talk. “She totally bailed on me.”

“I...” She gives him a small look. “... don’t know where she is.”

Who knows what her father has done to her body?

Matt gives out a long sigh. “Is this what I’m in for? A lifetime worrying about her?”

Emma’s bottom lip quiver and she throws her arms around him for a tight hug, the blond blinking in surprise at the gesture.

“ _You’re a good brother, Matt..._ ”

“Yeah...” He slightly nods, hugging her back. “Maybe she went home.”

The brown-haired girl steps back and gives him a sad smile. “Maybe...”

They stare at each other for a few seconds before he walks away, taking his keys out of his nurse’s shirt to go in his car. Emma watches him leave with a heavy heart then suddenly gets inside her car to hide, feeling her heart trying to push out all the desperate pain through her tears and sobs.

* * *

“You’re here.” Emma looks up from the wooden steps of the Gilbert’s porch to see Elena giving her a relief look despite the tears in her eyes, Stefan also standing beside her but with a worried expression instead. “You didn’t answer, I thought-”

“Where is he?”

That’s all Emma can manage to say as she stares at the both of them, and Stefan slowly makes a sign towards the door with his head. “Inside.”

“Thank you.” She finishes walking up the stairs and passes by them so she can go through the door, then she slowly walks up the stairs inside the house to be able to reach Jeremy’s room. She stops at the entrance for a moment when she sees him curled up in his bedroom, holding onto his pillow. She gives out a sharp breath of pain as she walks closer to him, but he only looks up at her when she sits down in front of him and touches his arms.

“ _Emma..._ ” He slowly reaches out for her and takes her hands in his, giving her a desperate look. “ _I was so scared for you..._ ”

She gives out a small smile for a second, then loses it. “Do you... understand what happened tonight?”

“ _No..._ ” A sob gets caught in his throat as he looks into her green eyes. “I don’t understand... I mean, I know what I saw, but I don’t understand...”

Emma takes in a sharp breath. “She... was a vampire... and she was gonna kill me...”

“Now she’s dead.” Jeremy frowns as he tries to grip reality. “Vicky’s dead.”

“I know-” Emma moves her hands away from his to be able to hold his head. “I’m _so_ sorry, we tried to help her-”

“She almost killed you-” He wraps his arms around her and holds close, the brown-haired girl moving her arms around him to give him comfort. “A-and she forced me to-”

“ _Shhh..._ ” She holds the back of his head with one of her hands, letting him cry on her shoulder. “None of this was your fault, Jay’, okay? Trust me, none of it was.”

“ _I’m sorry..._ ” He just keeps holding on to her, scared that she’ll go away and disappear like his parents. “ _I’m so sorry..._ ”

“I’m sorry, too...” She feels her throat shrinking from the sadness. “I’m sorry...”

* * *

Elena slowly turns her head towards Stefan, noticing the dark and painful expression on his face. “Are you okay?”

He gives out a long sigh and a sad smile. “I... wanted to help her.”

She slowly nods, the tears still threatening to fall from her eyes.

“But instead, I, um...”

He doesn’t seem to be able to finish his sentence, and Elena nods to tell him that he doesn’t to. When Emma then steps out of the front door with tears flowing down her cheeks, they both turn their attention to her.

“How’s he doing?”

“He’s a mess...” She gives Elena a desperate look. “And it’s my fault...”

Elena just breathes sharply and turns her head at Stefan. “I don’t want him to go through this again. He’s just a kid!”

“Elena, what can I do-” Stefan takes her hands in his, desperately wanting to make her feel better. “What can I do to help? I’ll do anything.”

Emma takes another step out. “Can you make him forget?” Both Stefan and Elena stares at her in shock, the Salvatore girl feeling her lips quivering from sadness again. “... please?”

Stefan slowly shakes his head. “Emma-”

“Yes.” Elena looks back at Stefan with determination. “You can make him forget, right? Make him feel better?”

“No, I-”

“Stefan, _please_.” Elena shakes her head and breathes in. “I don’t know how he’ll ever get past this. I think it’s for the best if he forgets everything that happened-”

“If I did it, there’s no guarantee that it would work...” Stefan turns his eyes towards Emma. “You know that, Em’. I don’t have the ability to do it right.”

“ _ **I can do it.**_ ” They all turn their heads towards the source of the voice, only to see Damon slowly walking closer from the end of the porch. “If this is what Pumpkin wants... I’ll do it.”

“It’s-” Emma hugs herself as she looks at Elena. “Not my call to make.”

Elena stays silent for a little while, then slowly nods. “It’s what I want.”

Stefan stays silent and slowly nods to say that he’ll let his brother do what Elena wants, and Damon looks away from his daughter to concentrate on the Gilbert girl.

“What do you want him to know?”

She takes a sharp breath in and turns her frustrated yet sad expression towards him. “I want you to tell him that Vicky left town... and she’s not coming back. That he shouldn’t look for her or worry about her. He might miss her, but he knows it’s for the best.”

Damon nods in understanding, then turns his blue eyes towards Emma. “Is that what you also want, Pumpkin?”

Emma doesn’t say anything as she stares blankly at the floorboards of the porch, then she breathes in and looks up at her father. “Can you... make him forget that he loves me?”

Elena snaps her head towards her. “Em’, no-”

“No, Elena, you thought about it too-” Emma gives out a hard smile to try and stop herself from crying. “This kind of stuff has always been happening around me... and Jeremy deserves a normal life, so...” She looks back at her dad. “Can you make him believe... that we both realized we only... liked each other as friends and... and we ended on a nice note and... and that I’ll always be there for him if he needs me, please?”

“Of course.” He tilts his head at her, his blank expression faltering. “If that’s what you want...”

“ _It’s not._ ” She hugs herself tighter and closes her eyes. “But it’s what’s best for him-”

“... okay.” Damon slowly passes by her to get inside the house while Stefan sits down on one of the outside sofas. Elena sits down beside him while Emma simply walks down the porch’s steps and stands there, trying to not feel anything. The Salvatore girl gets so wrapped up in her head that she doesn’t hear Elena and Stefan talk behind her, and she only gets out of her head when he dad finally steps out a couple of minutes later.

“It’s done.”

Elena turns her head at him and stares in silence for a few seconds before she stands up and runs into her house, both vampires watching her leave without saying anything. Then they turn their attention to Emma standing in front of the house, and Damon’s the first one to walk over to her and stand in front of her.

“Pumpkin...” He lowers his head so she can see his eyes, the girl not reacting. “Are you alright?”

“ _Can you take me home?_ ” She goes out of her mental state and sniffs in. “ _Please? I just wanna go home-_ ”

“Yeah, yeah, of course-” He wraps his arms around her and lets her cry into his white shirt, her fingers grasping the back of his jacket while she silently screams. “I got you, Pumpkin... I got you.”

Stefan just stares from his place, wondering how much everything would be different if he didn’t come back to Mystic Falls.


End file.
